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Former UFC champion and recent Hall of Fame inductee Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of the frontrunners in the list of opponents for Georges St-Pierre’s return to competition. The 42-year-old GSP will partake in a grappling match with UFC Fight Pass in December.
St-Pierre will face Demian Maia, but there remains to be stories about Nurmagomedov’s supposed deal and the amount of money involved.
Khabib’s alleged $5M demand to face GSP
According to ADCC medalist Craig Jones, Nurmagomedov was in talks to face St-Pierre. He also mentioned the amount “The Eagle” supposedly requested to make it happen.
“I remember I was with the (UFC) Fight Pass guys and they were trying to ask me for opponents for GSP, for ideas, and I had no idea who (it) would be,” Jones said in his El Segundo podcast.
“They asked me in the moment, I was like ‘I dunno…’ but I remember obviously I said Khabib (Nurmagomedov). I think they said Khabib wanted 5 million dollars to do the grappling match.
“I was like ‘whoa, obviously that’s priced himself out there’. Those guys would be cool to see.”
Team Khabib responds
As an active fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov wasn’t known as someone who would make monetary demands. So it came as a surprise to his management team when Jones’ statements came to light.
“Where did Craig Jones get the figure of about 5 million?” Nurmagomedov’s manager Rizvan Magomedov said via Russian news outlet TASS. “Maybe his grandmother whispered these numbers to him. It looks funny.”
Magomedov said the negotiations never got to the money discussion.
“They proposed to hold a fight, but the conversation didn’t even reach the amounts,” he clarified. “They didn’t even discuss, they didn’t ask what amount and price. They asked if there was a desire or not. Then it was all over.”
The history between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre
The two legendary fighters have been linked with each other, but nothing ever materialized. Khabib went on record in 2020, stating that St-Pierre was the only person who could urge him to fight on.
But upon his retirement that year, Nurmagomedov turned down subsequent offers to face St-Pierre, stating, ‘I’m finished. I’m really finished.’
From his end, GSP remained open about the idea in 2021. Despite concerns about the UFC’s potential “lowball” offer, he was willing to consider if the deal was right.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last fight happened at UFC 254 in 2020 against Justin Gaethje. He won via submission and announced his retirement right after, ending his career with a record of 29-0. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022.
St-Pierre (26-2) hasn’t fought inside the MMA cage since 2017, when he defeated Michael Bisping to become the undisputed middleweight champion. He would later relinquish the title due to the inability to compete because of health issues.
GSP made his retirement official in 2019. He was likewise inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2020.
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