'The word retirement doesn’t mean anything': UFC legend Georges St-Pierre remains interested in Khabib Nurmagomedov fight

History has proved that combat sports retirements are often a temporary thing, and it looks like it could be the same when it comes to Georges St-Pierre, who says he retains real interest in fighting UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

St-Pierre, a former two-division UFC champion, announced his formal retirement from mixed martial arts in February of this year, around 15 months after his final fight, a middleweight title-winning effort against Michael Bisping at Madison Square Garden in late 2017.

The French-Canadian dropped the belt just weeks later due to a stomach ailment precluding him from the cage indefinitely but, once healed, he spoke of his interest in squaring off with Nurmagomedov – a thought which was well and truly echoed by the undefeated Russian.

St-Pierre's retirement was thought to have come after impassable difficulties in negotiating the terms of the potential 'superfight' but GSP - who remains in a high level of training at the Tristar facility in Montreal - indicated that, if the showdown with Khabib can be resurrected, then he is ready to answer the call.

"If the right fight came along, they know where to find me," St-Pierre told ESPN.

"We tried to make the right fight but it didn't work."

There is little mystery as to what that "right fight" is but, for the sake of clarity, St-Pierre was asked to directly respond to whether or not a fight with Nurmagomedov is possible, and if it still interests him.

"It depends," St-Pierre said, somewhat on the fence.

"If everything is aligned contractually, everything is good, as we speak now, yes I would."

The timeline for any fight between the two could well be a sticking point in any future negotiations. Nurmagomedov is widely expected to fight Tony Ferguson in his next title defense and, with St-Pierre due to celebrate his 39th birthday next year, one feels that the sand may be falling through the hourglass a little too quickly for anything to come to pass.