Georges St. Pierre

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz told boxing legend Mike Tyson last week that the retired UFC star turned down a $100 million offer to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Appearing on Hotboxin', Abdelaziz divulged the news and explained why Khabib turned the offer down (beginning at the 24:30 mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzdDtG3nrqA?start=827s

"Khabib got offered $100 million after he was retired to fight Floyd Mayweather. $100 million. You can ask Floyd, you can ask everybody, and Khabib said, 'No, I'm retired. I told my mother I'm retired. I'm gonna keep my word to my mother. If my mother told me to fight again, maybe I will, but right now she told me not to fight.' He comes from a Muslim culture. We respect our mothers very dearly. We can't go to heaven without our mother's permission."

The offer came up during a discussion regarding whether Khabib would return to the UFC to fight Georges St-Pierre. Abdelaziz suggested that Nurmagomedov is content in retirement and also expressed his belief that the 40-year-old St-Pierre would be outmatched in a clash with Khabib.

Nurmagomedov, 32, was active as a pro fighter from 2008-20. He went 29-0 with 11 submissions and eight knockouts, including a 13-0 mark in the UFC.

Khabib is a former UFC lightweight champion with wins over Conor McGregor, Rafael dos Anjos, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje on his resume.

His last fight was a second-round submission triumph over Gaethje at UFC 254 in October. After the win, Khabib announced his retirement, citing his mother's wishes and the death of his father and trainer Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Prior to his retirement, Abdelaziz said in February 2020 that Khabib had been offered $100 million to fight Mayweather and $100 million for a rematch with McGregor, but neither came to fruition.

Khabib has remained steadfast in his decision to retire, even resisting overtures from UFC President Dana White.

With a fight against Khabib not currently on the table, Mayweather is instead set to box YouTuber Logan Paul in an exhibition that will emanate from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on June 6.

Happy Friday and welcome back to TGIFighting. We'll get you set for this weekend's MMA action and react to the news of the day. Let's go. 

      

GSP-Oscar De La Hoya: The Boxing Match I Never Knew I Never Wanted to See

Honestly, what did you expect from the UFC? The last time UFC prez Dana White played ball with anyone, he was on a playground in short pants and orange slices were involved.

The real surprise is that this wacky boxing match was a thing to begin with.

If you missed it, part of me wants to let you continue living in blissful ignorance. But the other, larger part of me wants to complain about it, so here goes.

Word came out last week that arguable MMA GOAT (and personally he gets my vote) Georges St-Pierre (26-2) was planning to face former boxing champ Oscar De La Hoya (39-6) in an exhibition bout to take place on Triller—the same streaming platform that brought you instant classics like Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren.

But the UFC nixed the bout, with White going on one of his signature expletive-laden rants when he was asked about it later, saying, among other things, that Triller execs were messing with "my guys."  

Although he hasn't competed since 2017, St-Pierre is still under contract with the UFC. So, White and company are within their rights here, which I think is what White was getting at beneath all the chest-puffery.

So, no, no surprises on this front. ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that Triller had pledged $1 million for charity on top of a purse that may well have been GSP's largest to date, given the UFC's notoriously stingy athlete pay. Still, charity or no, nothing's likely to move White, who usually shares or entirely cedes his personal decision-making process to body parts other than his head. 

The real tragedy here is that GSP was actually going to do this. De La Hoya is 48 years old. That means they'd be a combined 87 years of age going into the bout. I get that fading MMA stars want and need big paydays, or just to feel the rush of competition or capture the limelight one more time. Complaining about these "legends" fights is tilting at windmills.

But this one is sad even when grading on that steep curve. This one is right up there with Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3, a 2018 one-off staged by none other than De La Hoya, through his Golden Boy Promotions. Combined age in that one: 93 years.

This one's arguably worse because GSP isn't a boxer. This is one step up from St-Pierre announcing he'd opened a GNC in a Montreal-area strip mall—only for the UFC to step in and tell him he couldn't do it. The world likely doesn't need another GNC, but that's beside the point. The point is, it shouldn't have to come to this in the first place. People in the fight game—lots of people in the fight game—need to find a way to get some dignity. 

            

Women's Flyweight Just Got a New Destroyer

Tatiana Suarez's career took a nosedive in recent years through no fault of her own. The problem? After Suarez (8-0) laid waste to five straight UFC strawweights, matchmakers calls to potential next opponents mysteriously started going straight to voicemail.

The Olympic-level wrestler and cancer survivor is as skilled and marketable as they come, and she recently made a big career decision by moving up to flyweight. Per ESPN, she was medically cleared for the move on Wednesday.

No opponent has been announced for Suarez yet, but let's not forget who currently owns this division: one Valentina Shevchenko (21-3), who runs from no one. Suarez told ESPN, "I do think I have a good skill set in terms of my wrestling [that] can give her trouble."

Make no mistake: This is big news. Suddenly the 125-pound division looks like the best weight class on the women's side of the ledger, and a Suarez-Shevchenko title fight might be the best WMMA bout the UFC can conceivably make right now. It's like adding a tiger to the cheetah enclosure. Let's just hope some flyweights answer the phone.

          

Ben Rothwell: The Clown Prince of the Heavyweight Division Fights to Regain His Mojo

This Saturday at UFC 188, Ben Rothwell (38-13) will fight on the undercard for the first time in his 16-fight UFC career.

It wasn't long ago that he was kicking backside and taking names. He's been one of the most entertaining fighters on the entire UFC roster, let alone the heavyweight division, both inside and outside the lines of competition.

He was the total package. A headhunter of the first order, he was always game to bite down on the mouthpiece. Later in his career he pioneered the gogo choke, a modified guillotine that serves as a counter to takedown attempts—a novelty move only until you recall that he used it to hand grappling legend Josh Barnett (35-8) his first and only submission loss of his MMA career.

And after the fights are all over, the native Wisconsinite did hilarious dances and cut elaborate post-fight promos, complete with maniacal laughter. 

Forget the fight we're here to see Ben Rothwell DANCE! #Ifbendoesntdanceweriot #UFCNOLA pic.twitter.com/UjUFck3mkh

— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) June 7, 2015

Then came a two-year suspension for failing a drug test, which put him out of commission until 2019. He's a not-entirely-unrespectable 2-3 since his return, which saw him get right back to that swing-for-the-fences fight style. Most recently, he banged it out with Marcin Tybura (21-6) but ultimately lost to a younger, faster opponent who used something called "defense" to weather the early Rothwell storm.

UFC Fight Night 188 may be a fork in the road for Big Ben, who turns 40 this October. When he faces late replacement Chris Barnett (21-6) Saturday in Las Vegas, it will be Rothwell's first time fighting on the undercard in his 16-fight UFC career.

Chris Barnett is a fire hydrant of a man with his own penchant for novelties and knockouts (16 career KOs to Rothwell's 28). Rothwell is a heavy -335 favorite to win (bet $335 to win $100), per DraftKings, and hopefully he takes advantage of the mic time to remind everyone who they're dealing with: one of the funniest, silliest, most entertaining fighters on the UFC roster. No one expects him to make a run to the top of the division, but it would be nice to see him back in the mix and entertaining fans on main cards again. Saturday we'll see what he still has left. Mwahaha. 

             

The American Way: Elon Musk Helps Beneil Dariush After Televised Rant

Streaking lightweight and noted Marxism critic Beneil Dariush (21-4-1) had some serious life challenges. After his win over Tony Ferguson (25-6) last weekend at UFC 262, Dariush called out Tesla founder and eccentric billionaire Elon Musk because his wife hadn't yet received the car she ordered.

"Joe, I'm gonna call out your buddy Elon," Dariush told broadcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. "Elon Musk! Where's my car, bro? I've been waiting six months! I'm having a baby! I need a good car! I gotta protect my daughter! Let's go Elon! Get me my car!"  

@elonmusk came through for @beneildariush with a free car until his order is ready. Elon is a gangster @ufc pic.twitter.com/ypl9CLoTuw

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) May 19, 2021

In a happy ending, Musk quickly saw that the Dariush brood received a free loaner Tesla for the interim waiting period. Lesson to be learned: If you want something bad enough, all you have to do is get yourself on TV and demand it. Now that's capitalism.

        

Stone-Cold Lead-Pipe Lock of the Week

Record: 8-3

Mayday! Mayday! We're taking on water! After jumping out to an 8-0 start we've hit a three-fight losing skid. That's not what anyone was looking for, particularly me. I'm betting on these fights too, so my damage is twofold, financial as well as reputational.

So I have to pick a winner this week. No half measures. So let us ride with our guy, Mr. Rothwell, who should get it done in a bang-it-out heavyweight bout with an opponent in Barnett, who is making his UFC debut and last competed a year-and-a-half ago in something called Square Ring Promotions. Lock it in? Sure. Here goes nothing.

     

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Triller Fight Club has pledged $1 million to charity if UFC President Dana White gives the green light for ex-UFC champion Georges St-Pierre to fight ex-boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya in the boxing ring.

Ryan Kavanaugh, who is the CEO of Triller's parent company Proxima Media, spoke with ESPN's Marc Raimondi about the offer, which is contingent on the fight occurring through Triller's promotion:

"We're trying to hope we can appeal to Dana's charitable side. I've offered $250,000 and I've asked others to join in. So, it's now up to a million dollars to a charity of Dana's choice—to allow GSP to go fight for money in boxing, not UFC. When [White] knows [St-Pierre] will never fight again for the UFC."

The retired St-Pierre has not fought in four years but remains under contract with UFC.

De La Hoya is looking for a comeback in the ring, making an announcement in March:

What are your thoughts on the pro #boxing comeback of @OscarDeLaHoya on July 3?

Who would you like to see Oscar face in his comeback fight?#TrillerFightClub pic.twitter.com/TyBY9CBBS7

— TrillerTV (@Triller_TV) March 27, 2021

St-Pierre appears up for a fight, too, telling Mick Joest of Cinema Blend as much. However, it appears White is not on board.

"I understand that Dana didn't want me to fight," St-Pierre told Joest.

"However, it would have been fun. Because my career as a professional fighter, to become the best in the world in mixed martial arts, is done. I’m turning 40 years old tomorrow; I’m going to be 40 years old. It’s a young man's game. However, to rather fight a boxing match under the rules that Triller put on against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya?

"For me, it would have been a dream come true, because he is my second favorite boxer of all time, behind Sugar Ray Leonard. Plus, a lot of the money made would have been given to charity. So it would have been for a good cause, just to show that we don't take ourselves too seriously. And it would have been serious competition because you say, I play basketball, I play hockey, but you don’t 'play' fighting. It would have been fun."

Raimondi gave an update from White's perspective.

"The UFC did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. But White did address the situation last Saturday night at the UFC 262 postfight news conference in Houston. White said Kavanaugh has repeatedly tried to get in touch with him, but that he is ignoring his calls and texts because 'they're all full of s--t.' White has also publicly feuded with De La Hoya, a former friend of his."

St-Pierre, who turned 40 years old Wednesday, was a two-division UFC champion who went 26-2 as a professional. He ended his career with 13 straight victories.

De La Hoya won his first 31 professional boxing matches before finishing 39-6 lifetime, winning 11 world titles in six weight classes. He hasn't fought since 2008.

UFC legend Anderson Silva lamented the company's intervention in Georges St-Pierre's desired boxing encounter with Oscar De La Hoya.

"I think it makes no sense, especially because Georges did a lot for the sport, especially for UFC," Silva told reporters. " ... Georges is a fighter. You can’t hold a fighter. It’s the same if you take the lion in the jungle and put him inside the cage. The lion is going to die. You can’t do that. Nobody can do that. This makes no sense. This is terrible, terrible. Completely terrible."

Triller's Ryan Kavanaugh alleged on Instagram that UFC President Dana White wasn't taking his calls about a proposed St-Pierre-De La Hoya fight.

St-Pierre then said to CinemaBlend's Mick Joest his understanding was that White "didn't want me to fight." The former middleweight and welterweight champion added the matchup "would have been fun" and "a dream come true."

White's stance is somewhat surprising because St-Pierre's MMA career appears to be over. He has fought once since 2013, beating Michael Bisping at UFC 217, and at 40, he's unlikely to have a long run in the event if he did come back.

But it appears UFC will remain steadfast in holding St-Pierre to his current contract.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has long coveted a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but The Nigerian Nightmare is doubtful it will happen.

Usman told TMZ Sports on Tuesday: "I've lost faith in this one. ... I think you have more of a chance at making Kamaru Usman and Georges St-Pierre happen before Kamaru Usman and Khabib."

Khabib is arguably the most dominant force in UFC history, as he owns a perfect 13-0 record under the UFC umbrella and a 29-0 mark in professional MMA.

Nurmagomedov beat Al Iaquinta for the UFC lightweight title in 2018 and defended it three times, beating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje by submission.

Despite being at the top of his game, Khabib announced his retirement following his win over Gaethje, citing the death of his father and trainer, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, as one of the reasons.

UFC President Dana White had subsequent conversations with Khabib in hopes of getting him to change his mind, but White seemed resigned to the fact that Khabib is retired when he tweeted the following in March:

29-0 it is.

He is 💯 officially retired. It was incredible to watch you work @TeamKhabib thank you for EVERYTHING and enjoy whatever is next my friend. pic.twitter.com/QeoSP12zw2

— danawhite (@danawhite) March 19, 2021

White doubled down on his belief by booking Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 262 on May 15.

The 33-year-old Usman is fresh off a vicious knockout win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 last weekend, and he is seemingly running out of high-end challengers in the welterweight division.

Usman is 19-1 overall, and like Khabib, he has never lost a fight in the UFC. Usman is 14-0 under the UFC umbrella and has won 18 consecutive fights.

Given how dominant both Usman and Khabib are, a fight between them would likely be among the most highly anticipated bouts in UFC history, but there is no sign that it could happen any time soon.

The fact that Usman mentioned St-Pierre as a potential opponent is intriguing, though, since Khabib has long wanted to fight the Canadian MMA legend.

St-Pierre, 39, is also retired and has only fought once since 2013 and not at all since 2017, but his name still carries plenty of weight.

There is no telling where St-Pierre's skill level stands after so much time away from the sport, but if Usman vs. Khabib can't happen, Usman vs. St-Pierre may be the next best thing if White can convince the 26-2 fighter to return for one more bout.

UFC legend Georges St-Pierre doesn't believe the UFC wants retired UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov to leave fighting on his own terms. 

St-Pierre appeared on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show and spoke about why the organization was trying to bring Nurmagomedov back into the Octagon (h/t Alexander K. Lee of MMAFighting.com):

"From a business standpoint, for sure the UFC does not like one of their athletes to leave on their own terms, especially when they are champions. They like to keep the ball rolling in the organization and that's one of the things they were angry at me [about], I've done this two times. But I think they attach too much importance into that. If you look at boxing, the way they promote the sport, it would be for example, 'Mayweather vs. Canelo,' and then after you know what they're fighting for.

"But in UFC, the way they promote it is 'UFC 259,' that's the UFC, they promote the UFC, then you have the two guys. So it's just a different way they promote the sport. I think the promotion should be more centered on the athlete than the promotion because there's all kinds of titles. The title is just a meaning. Even if you're champion, doesn't mean that people think that you are the best in the world if you are champion. You can be champion, but you haven't fought the best guy. People are not stupid. People know that."

Nurmagomedov, 32, retired in October after defeating Justin Gaethje, his third defense of the UFC lightweight title. After defeating Al Iaquinta in April 2018 to secure the belt, he knocked off a trio of big names to retain it—Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje. He stopped all three fighters early, all by submission. 

That left him a perfect 29-0 in his professional fighting career and 13-0 in the UFC. His ground-and-pound style and elite wrestling overwhelmed opponents, and as he improved as a striker, he became arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. 

Surely, Dana White and the UFC weren't thrilled to see one of their star fighters and biggest draws call it quits in his prime. White has maintained that he believes Nurmagomedov will ultimately fight whoever shakes free as the top fighter in the lightweight class during his absence.

"And [Nurmagomedov] can say whatever he wants. Khabib can say whatever he wants," he said in February, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "I believe if this thing plays out, and the right guy, however the fights happen, he'll fight him. I truly believe that."

Nurmagomedov offered a potential hint that he's considering a return after posting an image alongside UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta: 

It was good to see you Lorenzo 🤝@danawhite send me location 📍👊 pic.twitter.com/JChChJSCqR

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) March 17, 2021

St-Pierre can relate to Nurmagomedov. After defending the UFC welterweight belt an incredible nine times between 2008-13, he chose to walk away from the sport. He spent four years away before returning in 2017, winning the middleweight title in his debut fight at the weight class vs. Michael Bisping. He hasn't fought since and retired officially in 2019. 

He was one of the most dominant fighters the UFC has ever seen, and even he tipped his cap to Nurmagomedov. 

"I believe they want to keep Khabib in because they feel like Khabib is undefeated," he said. "He has probably the most dominant career ever. I don't even know if he lost a round—he might have lost a round but he dominate all his opponents."

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman would rather let his fighting speak for itself instead of engaging in verbal trash talk with his opponents. 

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Usman said he's not like Conor McGregor because he doesn't have the desire to be a "braggadocious guy...talking trash about my opponents, whether it's true or whether it's not true" (starts at 1:06 mark):

Even though Usman didn't engage in trash talk, he did throw out a challenge to UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre if he wants to return. 

"If he wants to do it, you gotta come see me," Usman said. "If he doesn't want it, that's okay. More power to him! I respect the retirement because he's done it all. He doesn't need to come back for no reason. If he wants to come back, he cuts the line, he beats everybody! He cuts the line from everybody! He gets the shot right away."

St-Pierre hasn't shut the door on fighting again, but he told ESPN's Marc Raimondi in October a bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov is the only thing that might convince him to come out of retirement. 

Usman is the king of the division that St-Pierre dominated for years. The Nigerian Nightmare has a 12-0 record in the UFC and has been the welterweight champion since beating Tyron Woodley in March 2019.

St-Pierre had a seven-year reign from 2006 to 2013 as welterweight champion. He returned from a four-year hiatus in November 2017 to beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship. 

The UFC inducted St-Pierre into the Hall of Fame last year. Usman will defend his title against Gilbert Burns on Saturday night at UFC 258.