Islam Makhachev’s next fight in the UFC has not yet been announced, but speculations have begun that it won’t likely be at Lightweight. With Ilia Topuria vacating the Featherweight title for a move up in weight, many believe Makhachev will also have to do the same.
Makhachev last fought at UFC 311, on short notice against Renato Moicano, whom he defeated via first-round submission. With the victory, the pound-for-pound king defended the Lightweight strap for a fourth time, a UFC record.
Chael Sonnen Shares Feelings on Rumors of UFC Stripping Islam Makhachev of the Lightweight Title
Chael Sonnen, a UFC Hall of Famer and three-time title challenger, doesn’t think the UFC will strip the Lightweight title from Islam Makhachev. Sonnen provided a detailed reason why it is so in the recent episode of his show with Daniel Cormier, Good Guy/Bad Guy.
“I heard that too, but there’s no way that’s true. Nobody would dare cross King Khabib. No way, not in this. They wouldn’t even when Kabib tried to give his own damn belt back. They wouldn’t accept it,” Sonnen said.
“He was shoving it in their face, and they were like they like wouldn’t put their hands on it. So they’re not going to take it off of his heir apparent. That’s not going to happen,” Sonnen added.
The 48-year-old added that Islam Makhachev has never made enormous demands from the UFC but has expressed interest in fighting at Welterweight. However, Sonnen believes that if the promotion yields to Makhachev’s wishes, it will set a bad precedent.
He even claimed that Ilia Topuria was stripped of the Featherweight title, despite “El Matador” and UFC CEO Dana White saying otherwise.
Chael Sonnen Explains Why Justin Gaethje Is Islam Makhachev’s Next Opponent
Ilia Topuria recently revealed that the UFC promised a Lightweight title shot after he expressed his desire to vacate the Featherweight strap. However, Islam Makhachev’s team has come forward, urging Topuria to defeat a Lightweight contender and win before a title fight.
Chael Sonnen recently claimed that Justin Gaethje will fight Islam Makhachev for the title at UFC 317. Since no official confirmations have been made, Daniel Cormier enquired about it to Sonnen in the above podcast.
Sonnen admitted that, unlike Ariel Helwani, he does very little verification of sources before breaking news. However, he stated that he got the information from an ESPN employee, whom he felt was reliable due to the UFC’s partnership with the platform.
“Arman [Tsarukyan] is off the table. Max [Holloway] and Dustin [Poirier], we both know are spoken for in that capacity, and it leaves you by process of elimination with Justin Gaethje. Not to mention we got nine plus weeks to International Fight Week,” Sonnen said.
When Cormier mentioned that a potential interim title fight is rumored, Sonnen played it down, as there is no need for it in the current scenario.