Firas Zahabi News

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 26, 2021

Firas Zahabi thinks when the going gets tough for Conor McGregor he gives up and believes that was the case against Dustin Poirier. In the main event of UFC 257, McGregor made his return to the Octagon to rematch Poirier. Early on in the fight, the Irishman had success and landed a solid shut that stunned Poirier. However, “The Diamond” started to leg kick McGregor and after the Irishman’s leg went “dead” Poirier went up top and knocked him out.

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.

Cole Shelton - November 6, 2019

Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor have both been open to fighting each other in the future. Yet, TriStar head coach, Firas Zahabi believes that it is a very dangerous fight for the Irishman and a fight he would likely lose. Why he thinks Masvidal would beat McGregor is simple. He believes Masvidal’s size would be the difference and the former two-weight champion would need to connect early. If he doesn’t, the coach believes it would be a long night for McGregor.

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.

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2019

On April 27, in the main event of Bellator 220, Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald will attempt to defend his title against former World Series of Fighting champ Jon Fitch in the final, first-round bout of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. Speaking to Robin Black and DAZN ahead of this fight, MacDonald’s coach Firas Zahabi, the main behind Tristar MMA, went off Jon Fitch, calling him a cheater and a coward.

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.”

Christopher Taylor - January 8, 2019

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has fired back at Tristar coach Firas Zahabi over his recent comments. The famous coach of UFC star Georges St-Pierre, Zahabi, had recently shared his thoughts on the possible outcome of a rematch between Conor McGregor and current UFC featherweight kingpin Max Holloway.

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.

Justin Golightly - January 26, 2018

Georges St-Pierre came, he saw, he conquered. The welterweight legend came back after four years removed from competition in the UFC and didn’t skip a beat. He looked amazing as he fought middleweight champion Michael Bisping and submitted him, capturing a title in a higher weight division. Understandably, fans were surprised and devastated to find out he compromised his health for the accomplishment, would vacate the belt and take yet another break from the sport. All eyes are on St-Pierre to return this year, perhaps at welterweight, but his coach doesn’t think that’s going to happen. “I honestly don’t bother [Georges St-Pierre] about [the next fight], because I know everybody is always asking him about it 24 hurs a day. When I see him, I don’t talk about the next fight. We don’t talk about it. I know what he’s thinking, he knows what I’m thinking and that’s it. We just leave it at that. Personally, I think he’ll fight again.He doesn’t know, nobody knows, but I think he’s just so hyper-competitive that eventually he’s going to wake up one day and he’s going to be like, ‘I need something. I need a challenge.'”