UFC 196 was a huge hit for many reasons. Obviously the biggest reason in the promotions eyes is that it was their third largest pay-per-view ever but it also had some solid future implications. Nate Diaz defeated Conor McGregor via rear naked choke in the main event and they are expected to have a rematch at UFC 200.
Another buzz worthy thing from UFC 196 was the fact that Georges St-Pierre was in the crowd watching. Some had speculated that he was there to possibly scout out an opponent for his comeback but he insisted he was just there watching. Since UFC 196 the talks about a St-Pierre comeback have only gotten louder and they seem to get more realistic by the day.
On Monday afternoon St-Pierre's coach, Firas Zahabi, spoke about a potential St-Pierre return and he said if he had to guess, he would fight at some point this year. Zahabi said that he thinks St-Pierre "cannot stay away".
St-Pierre hasn't fought since 2013 when he defended his welterweight title for the ninth time against Johny Hendricks. The reason for St-Pierre retiring while he was still the champ had a lot to do with the lax drug testing in the UFC. St-Pierre has said recently that he thinks the drug testing system has gotten better so that also works in favor of a comeback.
As for who St-Pierre might fight if he were to comeback, the rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor is a good place to start. Zahabi doesn't think St-Pierre wants to become champion again and defend the title time after time. Instead he thinks he would be more interested in a super fight. If McGregor wins the rematch against Diaz it would be a juicy idea to pit St-Pierre against "the Notorious," but even if Diaz were to win that would be a high-profile fight.
Dana White has said recently that the UFC and St-Pierre are in talks about a possible return but there hasn't been an update since then. To be clear Zahabi stated he was unsure of what St-Pierre will do in the future and that he was just going off of gut instinct but being his coach he would know better than most.
St-Pierre is an MMA and UFC legend who is still just 34 years old and keeps his body in great shape. If he wanted to come back now he could and he could likely still beat anyone. St-Pierre held the welterweight championship from 2008 until 2013 when he retired and having him return this year would give the UFC an enormous boost, especially if it was for a super fight.
