Georges St-Pierre
St-Pierre will return to action for the first time in four years at UFC 217 Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier believes a GSP-McGregor meeting is a "smart fight".
  • St-Pierre takes on Michael Bisping for the middleweight title at UFC 217.

Georges St-Pierre has been backed by his fellow Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier to call out Conor McGregor after his return.

St-Pierre will be returning to action for the first time since November 2013 when he takes on middleweight champion Michael Bisping for the title at UFC 217 on 4 November.

"GSP" will be expected to defend the title if he defeats the Briton. However, he has claimed that if he loses in his return fight, he will likely retire.

Aubin-Mercier, however, who competes in the lightweight division, wants the 36-year-old to call out the Irishman regardless of a win or loss against Bisping.

"To tell you the truth, I would not [keep fighting], but Georges [St-Pierre] is truly a real fighter, a real warrior, a real inspiration," Aubin-Mercier told TSN, as quoted on BJPenn.com. "He may fight again, I'm not sure. I think what would be plausible is to call out Conor [McGregor] after [the fight with Michael Bisping]."

"That's what I would do. Call out Conor. I think for the UFC, it's a really smart fight to do too, since it's a win-win of them. A win-win kind of, for the short time. If Georges wins, well, he's the greatest fighter of all time. If Conor wins, he is too. And if GSP wins, I don't think people would hold it against Conor."

While "The Quebec Kid" thought he was the first to think of a potential GSP-McGregor super fight, it has long been a dream meeting for MMA fans while the St-Pierre's coach also revealed initially that he wanted a return fight against Bisping or McGregor.

"[Georges St-Pierre] didn't talk to me [about fighting Conor McGregor]," Aubin-Mercier added. "I didn't even know that Firas [Zahabi] had talked about it. I thought I was the first one to think about it, I'm kind of disappointed."

"I think Conor is a smart fight for anybody in any division right now. Yeah, exactly, [a fight with Conor McGregor would be the biggest fight to make]. I think the promotion of the [a fight with Robert Whittaker] would not be like Bisping against him or Conor against him since both GSP and Whittaker are humble guys. Unfortunately, fans don't really like this."

Interestingly enough, boxing coach Freddie Roach, who has worked with St-Pierre for a while, also claimed in March that the "Notorious" was seen as a potential final opponent for the former welterweight champion.