Georges St-Pierre has massively slimmed down since he last fought, and fight fans are speculating that he may be preparing his body for a lightweight championship fight against the winner of the upcoming bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
St-Pierre is a rare breed of UFC fighter. He was a long-reigning welterweight champion, defending the title nine times (2,204 days). He then took a four-year break, dusted off his mixed martial arts gloves in 2017, and challenged — and submitted — Michael Bisping, winning the middlweight belt in the process.
St-Pierre weighed 184.4 pounds for the Bisping bout but in a recent photograph, it looks like he is back to a welterweight size, with some fans even claiming it looks like he could end up competing at lightweight — the 155-pound division — if he were to ever fight in the UFC again.
Here is the new-look St-Pierre:
—Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) September 2, 2018
The most-liked reply to St-Pierre's photograph said: "Oh you're coming for the 155lb belt for sure."
Many other replies also speculated on a potential lightweight match-up against the Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor winner at UFC 229 in October.
A fight with McGregor, if it were to ever happen, would pit two two-weight world champions against each other and could be the biggest bout UFC could promote — but it is a fight UFC boss Dana White has previously ruled out.
Speaking on the BBC MMA show in August, White said: "I’m not interested in that fight."
However, it is one St-Pierre would likely campaign for. "I would be interested in that fight," St-Pierre said, according to MMA Fighting. "That’s a win-win situation. It’s a legacy upgrade and it’s good money."
