Ali Abdelaziz, the manager for UFC sensation Khabib Nurmagomedov, said a clash with MMA legend Georges St-Pierre is likely the only fight that could entice his client out of retirement.
Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports in an interview released Friday that Khabib, who announced his fighting career was over following an October win over Justin Gaethje, isn't motivated by money but has always been interested in taking on the former welterweight and middleweight champion.
"Honestly, I think if Georges St-Pierre is serious about coming back to fight, I could see it happening—that would get Khabib up," he told TMZ.
Abdelaziz doesn't think there's another fight that would entice Nurmagomedov back to the Octagon, saying even a big-money rematch with Conor McGregor wouldn't be enough.
"I think financially it's a huge fight," he told TMZ. "But, we know Khabib, it’s hard to persuade him financially."
The dominant lightweight champion's manager added a meeting is expected to take place between Nurmagomedov and UFC president Dana White in the near future to discuss if the retirement is final.
"Dana is really good at getting people to do things," Abdelaziz said.
Khabib has never shied away from his interest in getting a shot at St-Pierre, one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. He discussed it as a possibility on ESPN's First Take before his fight with Gaethje.
"I don't know if he wants to fight with me or not, can he make weight—155 or not—but this fight makes me excited, honestly," he said. "And I think me vs. Georges is going to be very, very big fight. Like big fight for fans, big fight for pay-per-view, big fight for analytics, for everybody. This is only fight in UFC, after Gaethje, that makes me very excited."
Although there's no doubt that bout would attract ample interest, whether it would be competitive is a tougher question to answer.
St-Pierre has only fought once since the start of 2014. That was a submission victory over Michael Bisping in a November 2017 middleweight title fight. One year later, the Canadian standout announced on La Sueur podcast (h/t MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew) he'd fully recovered from ulcerative colitis but said another UFC return had become "less tempting."
His track record is terrific, with numerous high-profile wins en route to a 26-2 record, but he'll be 40 in May and staring down an opponent in Khabib, 32, who's still pretty much at the peak of his powers.
That's a tough ask, even for one of the sport's most accomplished champions. It would be a matchup that would be tough for White and the UFC to pass up if both fighters are interested, though.