Former two division UFC Champion Georges St-Pierre weighs in on where Khabib Nurmagomedov stands in the GOAT discussion.
Khabib Nurmagomedov called time on his career while still unbeaten. That is a good pre-requisite to be considered the greatest of all time in any sport. However, there are some who believe that he retired too early. Khabib also only had three title defenses prompting some to claim that he doesn’t really belong at the top. UFC legend Georges St Pierre however, disagrees.
In a conversation with MMANews, GSP described Khabib’s career as perfect and said that he had earned the top spot.
“He had a perfect career, perfect, he’s on the top. The way I see it when you say greatest of all time you have to wait until their career is over. It’s sad to say but a lot of fighters I feel tend to (tarnish) their legacy a little bit because they hang there too long. For me, the greatest of all time is someone who left behind a great legacy.”
“Make your money, fight when you are on the top and then exit”
GSP also mentioned that its kind of okay staying long in a sport like Basketball or Hokey. However, doing the same in a full contact sport like MMA, boxing or kickboxing was completely different.
“If you stay too long past your prime in a sport like basketball it’s not too bad. In a sport like full-contact fighting, boxing, MMA, or kickboxing you get punched in the head, it’s very dramatic, and the outcome of a loss is much more serious than it is in another sport.
“We say we play basketball, we play hockey, we play football, but you don’t play fighting,” GSP continued. “Therefore, that is why I’m telling the younger generation, make your money, fight when you are on the top of the food chain when you are at best and your prime, and then exit. Leave it.”
The greatest of all time debate is an on going one. There were times when Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva was considered to be the GOAT. Spider got some losses and his name kind of got away from the list.
Many from the MMA community and outside still believe Jon Jones to be the greatest of all time. Khabib was always on the list as he has an undefeated record which no other fighter has. GSP himself has his name on many peoples list.
Also Read: Who is the only fighter in the UFC to defeat Israel Adesanya?
Click here for more UFC news.
