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Georges St-Pierre Fighting for Legacy, Insists Conor McGregor Doesn’t Fit the Bill
Hardly anyone would disagree that a blockbuster match-up between former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre
St-Pierre, however, insists it’s not a fight that is on his radar, as he doesn’t think it helps his legacy. At the same time, his longtime coach, Firas Zahabi, would love nothing more than for the fight to happen, as he believes it would be bigger than the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing spectacle.
“The thing is, Conor McGregor, money-wise, I believe is the one that can put the more money on the table. However, I think legacy-wise, I don’t think he’s the guy that legacy-wise (helps me),” St-Pierre said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.
“I mean, money-wise, for people who are not huge fans of MMA, they know who Conor McGregor is. He’s the main guy. He’s the guy who brought the sport to a different level. He’s, I would say, is the most charismatic guy. He sells, the biggest seller in the sport. But talk about legacy, if I come back I want it for legacy, that’s what interests me the most, more than the money. Money, yes, it’s good, but if I come back, it would be more for a legacy match.”
St-Pierre certainly added to his legacy by returning in November of 2017, following several years on the sidelines, to take the UFC middleweight title from then-champion Michael Bisping. He became only the fourth fighter in UFC history to capture a title in two different weight classes. McGregor is one of the other three, but also the only one to have held two UFC titles simultaneously.
Shortly after St-Pierre won the middleweight title, he notified the UFC that he was vacating the belt, insisting that he needed to deal with a health issue called ulcerative colitis, and he didn’t want to keep the middleweight title in limbo during his recovery. Though he insists he is likely to fight again, St-Pierre isn’t sure if he would fight again at middleweight, return to welterweight, or perhaps even step all the way down to lightweight.
Whatever he does, he wants it to be something that gets him emotionally vested and adds to his legacy. St-Pierre just doesn’t think McGregor fits that bill.
“For me, now that I’m at the end of my career, it needs to be something that excites me, something that is a win-win situation that can elevate me.”
Zahabi, however, is extremely vested in a St-Pierre vs. McGregor match-up. Though he doesn’t cite St-Pierre’s legacy, Zahabi sees that value in the fight, believing it would be not only the biggest fight in UFC history, but also bigger than Mayweather vs. McGregor.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
