Khabib: St-Pierre only fight that excites me after Gaethje

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a specific opponent in mind after his title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.

The lightweight champion said Tuesday he would only be excited about facing Georges St-Pierre if he beats Gaethje on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

"I really become excited when I think about Georges St-Pierre," Nurmagomedov said during an appearance on ESPN's "First Take." "I don't know if he wants to fight with me or not, can he make weight - 155 (pounds) or not - but this fight makes me excited, honestly.

"And I think me versus Georges is going to be very, very big fight. Like big fight for fans, big fight for pay-per-view, big fight for analytics, for everybody. This is only fight in UFC, after Gaethje, that makes me very excited."

This isn't the first time Nurmagomedov has been linked to a potential clash with St-Pierre, a former welterweight and middleweight champion who retired in 2019.

Earlier this year, the 155-pound champ teased he could meet St-Pierre in early 2021.

St-Pierre has said he would only return to the Octagon for a fight against Nurmagomedov.

St-Pierre's head coach Firas Zahabi told Sherdog last week he believes there's a "50% chance" the former champ will come back to face Nurmagomedov if the Russian has a "stellar" performance at UFC 254.