Three reasons why we don’t need Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. GSP right now
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Yes, the fight that so many fight fans have been raving about lately – UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. UFC legend and arguable GOAT, Georges St-Pierre.
Many have been calling for this fight lately and both fighters have expressed interest.
But there are reasons why this is not the fight we need to see right now.
Here’s why:
3. Yet another super fight in the UFC that will hold up a stacked lightweight division:
The lightweight division in the UFC is arguably the strongest division the organization has ever had. It currently holds the best lightweights in the world. At 155 alone, they have all these killers:
A. Khabib Nurmagomedov
B. Tony Ferguson
C. Conor McGregor
D. Dustin Poirier
E. Justin Gaethje
F. Donald Cerrone
G. Al Iaquinta
H. Paul Felder
I. Edson Barboza
J. Kevin Lee
K. Anthony Pettis
L. Gregor Gillespie
M. Charles Oliveira
N. Alex Hernandez
O. Islam Makhachev
P. Dan Hooker
This really doesn’t even need any explanation. When you have a division stacked with THIS many great fighters, super fights really aren’t necessary. Khabib vs. GSP would be thinning the possibility of so many other great fights.
I would want to see guys like Justin Gaethje, Gregor Gillespie or Charles Oliveira get a shot in the near future.
2. We all know Tony Ferguson is the rightful #1 contender:
Tony Ferguson is currently ranked #1 in the lightweight division. He won the interim title in 2017 and never got his unification fight. He is also on a 12-fight win streak right now, the longest win streak in the UFC. And crazy enough, he still hasn’t gotten his crack at the true title. I understand that the fight was almost made about 3 or 4 times now. But, it didn’t happen and it needs to. Especially before any super fight.
Ferguson, in my opinion, is the best challenge for Khabib. And there is nobody more deserving of a fight with Khabib than him. Regardless of legacy or what anybody else ‘deserves.’
Khabib vs Tony is the fight to make right now.
3. GSP would be at a huge disadvantage fighting at 155:
GSP always fought at welterweight when he was in the UFC. Welterweight is 170 pounds. He fought welterweight up until walking away from the sport after his fight with Johny Hendricks in 2013.
When he returned in 2017, he moved up to middleweight to challenge Michael Bisping for the title. Which, in my opinion, made perfect sense for GSP because he walks around in that weight vicinity. Before the Bisping fight, GSP was walking around close to 200 pounds. When he used to fight at welterweight, he was walking around at about 185 pounds. As recently as September 2018, GSP was reported to have been walking around at about 183 pounds.
Now, if he was going to make a move back to welterweight right now, I think that’d be ideal. But the cut down to 155 seems very drastic, in my opinion. He would be cutting down about 30 pounds to make weight for Khabib. I just think that weight cut would be too harmful to his body and really impact his performance. Khabib would be at a huge advantage in this fight, being the more natural 155er.
We’ll see.
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The Scrap’s Kevin Mahoney is a college graduate from Salem State University who loves to write, make music, and watch MMA. Make sure to follow Kevin on Twitter (@KeysRealTalk) and listen to his Lee N Keys Real Talk Podcast every Wednesday on BlogTalkRadio.
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