Georges St-Pierre picks Royce, Jones, Khabib as UFC GOATs, overlooks Conor McGregor

Former UFC Champ-Champ Georges St-Pierre recently talked to TMZ where he picked Hall of Famer Royce Gracie as the greatest UFC fighter of all time. Royce Gracie was one of the biggest UFC draws in the past, known for the unique jiu-jitsu style developed by his family. ‘Gracie jiu-jitsu’ became so popular that Royce’s family opened up various dojos and is now hailed as one of the best techniques in MMA. While praising his inspiration, Georges St-Pierre stated that Royce Gracie changed the sport and “the entire belief system of what a real fight is”.

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Georges St-Pierre then added former light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to the list, overlooking former UFC double champion Conor McGregor. While GSP hailed Jones and Nurmagomedov as the best, he reiterated that people should never forget the impact Royce Gracie had on the sport. St-Pierre noted that apart from Gracie, there are many other UFC fighters who should be hailed for making the promotion big and paving the way for others.

“Jon Jones is there. Jon Jones, I believe right now is the best guy. There's also Khabib that could be there, there's a lot of guys. But we should never forget about the guys who were there before us. They paved the way for us,” added Georges St-Pierre in the interview with TMZ.

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Fans criticise Georges St-Pierre for not picking Conor McGregor

After GSP’s comments, fans took to Twitter and criticised the former champion for picking Khabib Nurmagomedov over Conor McGregor. While it can’t be overlooked that Conor McGregor is the most profitable fighter to ever enter the octagon, it’s also a fact that Nurmagomedov has a better record than the Irishman. While Conor McGregor has suffered four losses in his career, The Eagle is yet to lose a single fight and is also one of the fighters who has accounted for one of Conor McGregor's four defeats in the UFC.

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The two faced each other at UFC 229, where Conor McGregor lost via a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. UFC 229 drew 2.4 million PPV buys, the most ever for an MMA event. As of August 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov is second in the men’s pound-for-pound rankings, while Conor McGregor is at the tenth spot despite retiring from the sport earlier this year. The chart is topped by Jon Jones – another fighter Georges St-Pierre called the GOAT.

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Image Source: GSP, McGregor Instagram