Coach Breaks Down GSP Vs. Khabib Superfight

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A fight between Georges and Khabib remains a hopeful fantasy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on how it’d play out.

The Georges St-Pierre comeback rumors continue to swirl coming into 2020, and one of the guys that has been helping to keep that match-up in the headlines is GSP’s head coach and close friend Firas Zahabi. Georges, he doesn’t like to talk about anything speculative that doesn’t involve aliens. Zahabi? His lips are much looser. He’s the one that keeps on saying St-Pierre would return for the right deal against the right opponent. And he hasn’t been shy about pointing out that Khabib is the right opponent.

But how does Zahabi see GSP vs. Khabib going down?

”There’s no way I can tell you, I’m biased,” he said on the FightTIPS podcast, right before telling us his biased view.

”I think Georges, just his kicking ability alone, Georges’ kicking ability alone would win him rounds,” Zahabi said. “They’re both good jabbers, I think Khabib is a good jabber but I think defensively Georges is far superior. Defensively. His boxing is loinger and better, more precise. If you look at it statistically I think Georges’ numbers are better. And he has a superior kicking ability.”

”Even if Khabib were to take Georges down, let’s give the best case scenario,” Zahabi continued. “Georges is going to get back up. Personally, he’s going to get back up. Georges’ jiu-jitsu is impeccable. It’s not going to be like holding down anyone in the 155 pound division today. It’s another level.”

“Even if he gets him down – and I’m a mega Khabib fan, as a person and a fighter, huge fan – Georges’ ability to get up is incredible, and I’d be surprised if Khabib gets more than one takedown. It would shock me. It would surprise me. Georges is incredibly hard to take down. Look at his career, how many times has he been taken down? And how long did he stay down? It’s like a fraction of a second, he’s always up. He’s a difficult human being to keep down.”

So clearly, Zahabi has high hopes for St-Pierre should he ever step into the Octagon against Nurmagomedov. As for whether GSP could ever be convinced to step back in the cage in the first place? That seems less for sure, although Firas puts that on the UFC.

”I don’t want to speak for the guy. I don’t think he’s done,” he said. “I just think he’s so competitive that one day he’s going to see a guy that everyone thinks is unbeatable and then he’s going to want to come back. Khabib is one of those guys. But it’d have to be a 165 pound fight. Will the UFC do it, that’s the question.”