Zahabi: ‘No Way’ GSP Could Have Fought with Knee Sprain at UFC 137

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre suffered a setback on Tuesday, spraining his knee during a sparring session at Tristar Gym in Montreal and subsequently bowing out of his title defense against Carlos Condit at UFC 137.

Speaking exclusively with Sherdog.com, St. Pierre’s trainer, Firas Zahabi (Pictured), provided details on the welterweight king’s injury.

“He was sparring today and he hurt his knee,” Zahabi confirmed to Sherdog.com. “I had a feeling it was bad, but then, once he cooled down, he started limping. There’s no way he would be able to fight.”

According to Zahabi, the injury is currently being classified as a “bad sprain” following a trip to the doctor. The trainer said that the sprain would significantly limit St. Pierre’s ability to punch or kick.

St. Pierre’s injury occurred during a shoot boxing session, which mainly consists of standup sparring but also incorporates takedowns. Asked exactly how St. Pierre hurt his knee, Zahabi said that he could not adequately describe the sequence of events over the phone due to the complexity of the activity.

“It was a weird thing. I can’t really explain it. I’d have to show you,” said Zahabi.

While Zahabi stated that St. Pierre and his camp are let down by the recent development, the Tristar founder believes that the hard work sewn in this training camp will not be lost. Rather, Zahabi feels that the training will still pay dividends for “GSP” on a later date.

“Of course, everybody is disappointed,” said Zahabi. “We made a lot of sacrifices. We had a lot of people come in to help us train. We put a lot of man hours into getting ready for this fight. But it’s not going to waste, it’s just being put on hold.”