Firas Zahabi News

Susan Cox - December 15, 2021

Firas Zahabi, the coach of UFC icon Georges St-Pierre, has voiced concern about his kids’ school curriculum in Montreal. “It’s become encouraged now to feminize men,” Zahabi said during an episode of The 3Muslims podcast (h/t r/MMAPoliticsAndCulture). “If they want to feminize their men, they can do it, but they aren’t going to feminize our men.”

Adam D Martin - August 10, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will be on PEDs for the upcoming Tyron Woodley boxing match, says renowned MMA trainer Firas Zahabi. Zahabi, the head coach at Tristar Gym, recently spoke to fight fans in a YouTube Q&A session and he was asked what he thinks about the upcoming Paul vs. Woodley boxing match, which is set to take place on August 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. According to Zahabi, it is an intriguing fight, but the one thing he thinks will play the biggest factor out of everything is that Zahabi believes that Paul will be on PEDs for the fight against Woodley.

Adam D Martin - July 16, 2021

Conor McGregor was criticized by Firas Zahabi following his death threats, saying that “I was really grossed out… he’s going after kids now.” McGregor was finished by Dustin Poirier via first-round TKO in their trilogy fight at UFC 264 last weekend. But what a lot of fans and media are talking about still is the death threats that McGregor made towards Poirier, his wife Jolie, and their child. Speaking on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Zahabi criticized McGregor for his “horrible” comments.

Andrew Whitelaw - June 28, 2021

As coach of arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Firas Zahabi is well-placed to judge what makes a good fighter. In this case, the Canadian heaped praise on the resilience of Nate Diaz. Speaking in a Q&A on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel, Zahabi said,

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Firas Zahabi expects Conor McGregor to KO Dustin Poirier again. In the main event of UFC 257, McGregor is set to return to the Octagon against Poirier in a very intriguing bout. The first time they met, they fought at featherweight, and the Irishman won by first-round knockout.

Adam D Martin - October 30, 2020

MMA trainer Firas Zahabi says his pupil at Tristar Gym Georges St-Pierre and UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov “deserve their retirement.” Zahabi has been St-Pierre’s trainer for years at Tristar in Montreal and the coach has spoken openly in the past about a potential superfight between GSP and Nurmagomedov. However, in the wake of Nurmagomedov retiring following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, it appears that any possibility of a fight between these two legends has disappeared, at least for the time being. Zahabi agrees with that sentiment.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2020

Firas Zahabi, the head coach at Tristar MMA, believes Georges St-Pierre could make a comeback for the right fight — potentially a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2019

Sometimes in mixed martial arts we can all take ourselves a little bit too seriously — which is why we need a bit of comic relief from time to time. Enter Georges St-Pierre.  St-Pierre happens to be one of the most successful fighters in the history of the sport. The Canadian is a fascinating character with many different traits, many of which are great, and some of which are a little bit odd.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been putting work at Tristar in Montreal, Quebec. According to the gym’s head coach, Firas Zahabi, Woodley has been making strides. Speaking to MMA Junkie., Zahabi discussed his recent work with Woodley. Apparently, the former champ has been kicking convention and added some new weapons to his arsenal.

Adam Martin - August 22, 2019

The head trainer at Tristar Gym, Firas Zahabi, ripped into Conor McGregor for punching an old man at an Irish bar, calling him “an embarrassment to MMA.” A fan asked Zahabi what he thought about the recent McGregor incident, and the long-time trainer of Georges St-Pierre didn’t hold back.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2019

After Rory MacDonald fought to a majority draw against Jon Fitch in the first round of the welterweight grand prix, his post-fight comments caused quite a stir. “I don’t know what to say,” MacDonald said post-fight. “I landed some good stuff in there, I don’t know. It’s hard to sometimes pull the trigger now. I don’t have that killer inside. It’s really hard to explain. But I hesitate a little bit now. It wasn’t my best performance.”

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2019

Max Holloway was looking to become a two division champion at UFC 236. The featherweight king was moving up in weight to take on 155-pound contender Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. Ultimately, Poirier beat Holloway by unanimous decision to snap the Hawaiian’s 13-fight winning streak. Although Holloway lost, he had some good moments in the fight, but many thought the size discrepancy between he and Poirier played a huge factor. However, MMA coach, Firas Zahabi believes Dustin Poirier simply fought a smarter fight, which resulted in him getting the win.

Drake Riggs - February 25, 2019

At UFC 217 in November 2017, Georges St-Pierre made his return to the Octagon for the first time in four years. When doing so, he made the move up to middleweight as he captured the division’s title by finishing the champion, Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping with a third-round rear-naked choke.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2019

Georges St-Pierre has called it a career. The Canadian mixed martial arts legend officially announced his retirement from the sport at a Thursday morning press conference. Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi, who served as St-Pierre’s chief handler, feels the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion ended his career perfectly.

Drake Riggs - January 15, 2019

“[Georges St-Pierre is] back in training as usual.” Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi told MMA Betz. “Hopefully, he’ll get back in the game in 2019… So keep an eye out for that.

Tom Taylor - January 11, 2019

Earlier this week, Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi shared his belief that, if Conor McGregor were to rematch Max Holloway in 2019, the latter would come out on top. “If I had to pick Max Holloway vs. McGregor today, I would pick Max Holloway,” Zahabi said on his podcast. “I think Holloway has grown leaps and bounds since then. In my opinion, Holloway would out-punch him, outwork him. He would do very much what Diaz did [to Conor McGregor], but more,” he said. “I think McGregor got away with a lot of stuff, like the leg kicks against Diaz, but I don’t think he’ll have that against Holloway.”

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

During a recent Ask Me Anything session on the official Tristar YouTube channel, renowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi was asked for his thoughts on a rematch between former UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. When the pair first met in 2013, McGregor walked away with a unanimous decision victory. If the pair were to rematch in the year 2019, however, Zahabi says he’d pick Holloway to come out on top — potentially even by stoppage.

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2018

According to Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is likely to have sustained a concussion just two weeks out from his battle with Dan Hardy. Zahabi believes St-Pierre sustained this injury in a sparring session. Worried that ending this sparring session could diminish St-Pierre’s confidence, however, Zahabi allowed it continue — with a stipulation. He explained on a recent appearance on the JRE MMA Show.