Georges St-Pierre says the stoppage of Aiemann Zahabi against Sean O’Malley at UFC Freedom 250 came too early, arguing that Zahabi had a legitimate path to winning the fight through his grappling that was never given a chance to develop.
St-Pierre spoke about the bout, having trained extensively with Zahabi and knowing his game inside out.
They stopped it I think too fast. I think Aiemann could have recovered and Aiemann has a joker in his game if I can use this expression. He’s very good on the floor and he never really uses it. I think with what he had, that was the best game plan but we unfortunately didn’t see all of it because the fight didn’t last until the end.
O’Malley knocked out Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House on June 14, ending a seven-fight winning streak for the Canadian bantamweight in emphatic fashion. It was O’Malley’s second stoppage win of 2026 following his decision over Song Yadong in January, and broke a two-year personal stoppage drought for him.
Zahabi, 14-2, had been positioning himself as a genuine contender at 135 pounds. His promotional debut came against the division’s former champion, which many viewed as a tough assignment, but Zahabi had drawn confidence from his grappling-heavy camp and his background training alongside GSP at TriStar Gym in Montreal.
The stoppage drew mixed reactions online, with some feeling Zahabi was still capable of recovering before O’Malley’s ground-and-pound prompted the referee to intervene. GSP’s view reflects a camp perspective that Zahabi had tools available that the fight’s brevity simply did not allow him to deploy.
O’Malley meanwhile is pushing for championship-level pay in his next fight, saying the UFC will need to compensate him at that rate regardless of whether a title shot is on the table. He was also passed over for a Performance of the Night bonus despite the knockout — an outcome he publicly criticized after the event.
