The UFC fanbase and analysts have often argued about who would win in a fight between two of the most legendary mixed martial artists, George St-Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Both fighters have etched their names into the record books, with St-Pierre securing a staggering 13 title defenses and Nurmagomedov boasting a perfect 29-0 record.
The issue is St-Pierre retired in 2017 after spending 15 years in the UFC. When Nurmagomedov was working his way through his historic undefeated record, his title defenses came between 2018 and 2020. While St-Pierre was often rumored to return to the octagon to face Nurmagomedov, it never happened.
Both St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov had similar styles, in that they could drag their opponents to the ground and deliver vicious ground-and-pound shots. Both were also at the height of their submission defense and grappling offense.
It would have been a historic match, seeing which grappling artist had the more dominating style. Many believe St-Pierre would have easily overwhelmed Nurmagomedov, and it appears he would agree.
St-Pierre joined the Pound 4 Pound Podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, where he answered the years-long question about which dominating grappler would have won. Naturally, St-Pierre revealed how he would have taken down Nurmagomedov.
St-Pierre told the podcast, “I think I would’ve beat Khabib because if he would have come to put pressure on me, I would have put him down. I would have the confidence to try and go for it.”
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Nurmagomedov was a master of shooting his opponents and dragging them down to his level, where his pure strength usually led to submissions. In fact, he submitted Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Connor McGregor in his last three title defenses.
To be fair, all three listed fighters aren’t the most well-versed in the grappling game. However, Nurmagomedov also took down and defeated submission artists like Edson Barboza, Rafael Dos-Anjos, and Thiago Tavares.
Conversely, St-Pierre is also a grappling master, and one whose overwhelming nature rivals Nurmagomedov’s. St-Pierre defeated Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, BJ Penn, and Matt Serra. Not only are these some of the best UFC fighters in history, but all were masters of submission as well. Every name listed was also a highly-rated contender angling to win the title.
It’s hard to argue against Nurmagomedov’s undefeated record, but St-Pierre vanquished far more grapplers, all of whom were angling for the belt. St-Pierre’s 13 title defenses are just too hard to ignore, especially with the laundry list of legendary fighters he faced.
St-Pierre also had the confidence to try and take Nurmagomedov down, when most other fighters were scared to do so. St-Pierre is arguably the greatest grappler in the history of the sport, so it’s hard to imagine he would fall to Nurmagomedov.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.