Georges St-Pierre was among those predicting championship success for Khamzat Chimaev years before what transpired at UFC 319.
Chimaev’s undefeated run toward the top culminated in Saturday’s pay-per-view main event at Chicago’s United Center.
After a couple of brutal knockouts on the UFC 319 undercard, Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis across five rounds in the curtain closer to become the new middleweight champion.
Many had long pointed to ‘Borz’ as a likely future champion, and one particular fight saw a UFC GOAT bestow that tag onto the Chechen star.
Georges St-Pierre recognized Khamzat Chimaev’s ‘champion’ potential years before UFC 319
Before Kamaru Usman narrowly lost out via majority decision in 2023, Gilbert Burns gave Chimaev his toughest test at UFC 273 in April 2022. Both men enjoyed striking success in the fight, which ‘Borz’ won by way of a widely debated unanimous decision.
A few months later, Georges St-Pierre gave his assessment of Chimaev and his latest triumph. ‘Rush’ liked what he saw, claiming the Chechen rising star had “all the skills” needed for success.
‘GSP’ also stated that pushing through adversity in the manner that Chimaev did was the sign of a contender becoming a champion.
“Yes, Khamzat is very good,” St-Pierre told fans and media during a UFC Q&A in Paris three years ago.
“He’s got all the skills. He’s very good, and he showcased incredible durability and great mental strength in his last fight when he fought Gilbert Burns.
“He was pushed to the limit, and that’s when you recognize a true warrior, a true champion (instead of) a contender,” St-Pierre continued.
“When he faced those moments of adversity, some collapse, but some push through and succeed, and he proved it in his last fight. He’s very, very good.”
Georges St-Pierre’s final UFC opponent predicted Dricus du Plessis to beat Khamzat Chimaev
St-Pierre’s victory over Michael Bisping to win the middleweight title now held by Chimaev marked the legend’s final fight. Both retired stars were likely watching their former weight class closely at UFC 319.
Bisping, for one, would have been among those shocked by how the main event played out. During fight week, ‘The Count’ had predicted Du Plessis to mount a huge comeback after dropping the first two rounds.
“(Chimaev’s) probably going to dominate the first round,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “I think that Dricus weathers the storm in the first round…and he’ll probably end up losing the second round as well.
“I think Dricus du Plessis starts to take over, has some success in the third round, starts to land, starts to grow in confidence.
“We haven’t seen Khamzat Chimaev pushed to the limit over five rounds,” Bisping continued. “We’ve seen Dricus in the fourth round, in the fifth round…the man’s always trying to finish the fight, even in the late rounds.
“Dricus du Plessis will still be the middleweight champion of the world. (It) wouldn’t surprise me if he got a late stoppage in the fourth or fifth round.”