Georges St-Pierre To Face Ex-UFC Rival In Postponed Grappling Match

The UFC legend has agreed to meet one of his greatest rivals for his return to competition.

Author:
Drew Beaupré
Publish date:
Oct 19, 2023 3:09 PM EDT

Combat sports fans unfortunately won’t get to see UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre return for a grappling match in December, but if the matchup he signed on for stays intact it will certainly be worth the extra wait.

“Rush” is one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in the sport of mixed martial arts and one of the most successful champions in UFC history.

Following the ninth-consecutive defense of his welterweight title at UFC 167 against Johny Hendricks, the Canadian announced he was taking an extended hiatus from fighting. St-Pierre returned four years later and submitted Michael Bisping to claim the UFC middleweight title in what ended up being the final fight of his incredible career.

In July it was announced that the 42-year-old had signed on to compete in a grappling match at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational on December 14. An injury will apparently keep St-Pierre from competing on that date, but Aaron Bronsteter also reports that the former UFC champion has agreed to compete against his former rival Nick Diaz.

The initial news that St-Pierre would be participating in a grappling match immediately sparked discussion around who the all-time great might meet in his return. The former UFC champion added further anticipation for the match by suggesting he’d be interested in meeting the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, or Anderson Silva.

Georges St-Pierre Nick Diaz — St-Pierre met Diaz in the main event of UFC 158.
(Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports)

Assuming the matchup stays together now that both men have apparently suffered injuries, Diaz is arguably the perfect opponent for St-Pierre’s first combat sports outing since 2017.

The bad blood between the two helped to make their headlining bout at UFC 158 one of St-Pierre’s most highly-anticipated welterweight title defenses, and a grappling-only rematch between the two could give Diaz the chance to avenge the decision loss he suffered in their first encounter.

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