Usman Or Khabib: Who Would Be A Better Fight For Georges St-Pierre?

Former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre has pretty much been retired since 2017, but in the last few months, he has been the topic of headlines in mixed martial arts (MMA) circles.

That’s because the Hall of Famer has been discussed as a possible opponent for not one, but two of the UFC’s most dominant champions today.

Following UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s sudden retirement last October, GSP’s name was thrown around--a lot--as the only person that could entice “The Eagle” to make one more return to the Octagon and go for a historic 30th win.

Both St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov have previously expressed their willingness to face each other, and the rumblings were never as loud as they were towards the later part of 2020.

Unfortunately for fans who were hoping to see the potential super-fight, it appears that discussions have fallen through, and the two may not end up opposite each other inside the cage at least anytime soon.

It didn’t take long for GSP’s name to pop out again, as now, he’s being linked to a fellow 170-pound titleholder in Kamaru Usman.

Usman is coming off a dominant performance against former teammate-turned-challenger Gilbert Burns, winning by third-round TKO.

The Nigerian-American’s win put him at 13-straight victories, surpassing GSP’s 12-fight winning streak in the welterweight division.

Many were quick to proclaim “The Nigerian Nightmare” as the welterweight division’s new "Greatest of All Time," and even more were already salivating at a possible matchup between Usman and GSP.

The question now is: If St-Pierre decided to make one more trip to the Octagon, which fight would make more sense? Would it be against Nurmagomedov, or would it be against Usman?

Obviously, the bigger box office fight would be against Nurmagomedov. The undefeated Russian is already considered by some as one of the best ever to grace the cage, a claim that is disputed by many others.

From an overall standpoint, a fight and a win over Nurmagomedov would weigh more on St-Pierre’s resumé.

Maybe it was before his time, but St-Pierre was never the type to jump up and down weight divisions in search of new challenges.

He did come back as a middleweight and became the division’s champion after four years off, but having just one fight at 185 won’t land him on people’s lists of middleweight greats.

St-Pierre’s legacy has always been in the welterweight division, that’s why if he wanted to cement his place as the best to ever compete at 170 pounds, a fight with Usman is the way to go.

If GSP can beat Usman, it leaves no doubt in the minds of fans--new and old--who the best welterweight ever is.

If Usman can defeat GSP, then the current welterweight king should be on his way to "GOAT" status as well.

At the end of the day, either fight would be a big draw, especially with all the stakes and all the backstories at play.

The only thing that MMA fans can do now is to wait and see if any--or even both--of these fights actually come to fruition.