Georges St.Pierre’s appearance at UFC 196 this past weekend has sparked off renewed speculation that the former welterweight champion may be on the verge of a comeback, and his coach Firas Zahabi is only adding fuel to the fire.
Responding to news that prior to his fight with mcGregor, Diaz had been trying to hook up a fight with GSP, Zahabi indicated on social media that he too was interested in that fight.
“@NateDiaz209 let me see what I can do,” Zahabi told Diaz on Twitter. “I know @GeorgesStPierre was very impressed by your performance. & So was I.”
However, speaking after UFC 196 on Saturday night, Dana White claimed he still has no idea whether GSP actually wants to fight or not.
“It’s still a rumor,” White said when asked about him returning. “Georges just wanted to come to the fight tonight. Have we been talking to Georges? Yes we have. But who knows. I honestly, right here, right now, don’t know if Georges still wants to fight.”
With UFC 200 looming large on the horizon and both Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey now having tasted defeat, bringing GSP back would be a masterstroke for the promotion, so while White is playing it cool there’s no doubt he’ll be keeping his fingers crossed that Zahabi can convince him to get back into the Octagon.
It’s been over two years since the Canadian last fought and he appears to be wary of returning to the sports that made him a superstar, but having previously defeated Nick Diaz, perhaps he’ll fancy his chances of beating his younger brother Nate as a tune-up fight and then potentially moving on to a welterweight title showdown with Robbie Lawler.