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| ZUFFA LLC |
Chael Sonnen believes the true reason UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has been talking about chasing a second title in a higher weight class has nothing to do with accolades or building a legacy.
Soon after defeating short-notice opponent Renato Moicano in the first round at UFC 311, Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) said he would move up to middleweight to challenge current champion Dricus Du Plessis. Moving from 155 pounds to 185 is a huge jump in weight, but it would be the next logical step for Makhachev since he will not fight current welterweight champ Belal Muhammad.
“Islam’s got to talk about (Alex) Pereira at 205, and he’s got to talk about Dricus at 185,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “And that’s weird, and that’s not anything that anybody will take serious, but he has to do that because his friend has the belt at 170.
“There’s really no teams out there, there’s just guys that say they belong to a team, and that includes the NFL and NBA. Those guys are whores. You put down a bigger check than somebody else, they’re put your jersey on. The only team, real team, is Khabib’s and they have a code and they have an honor. You’re just not going to see a fight with Islam and Belal. But the No. 1 thing that Islam wants, and the No. 1 reason he keeps bringing things like this up – it’s not a challenge, it’s not a new world title. He wants out of the weight class.”
After hitting championship weight of 155 pounds at official weigh-ins the day before the fight, Makhachev gained 23.5 pounds, weighing-in at 178 pounds on the night of UFC 311. That’s just slightly under what he claims is his walk around weight of around 180.
If Makhachev were to move up to challenge Du Plessis, he knows it would take time to bulk up and add muscle to his frame, but he believes he could get the job done.
Sonnen is of the belief that Makhachev’s calls to change divsiions is a plea for help of sorts, and one that could lead to an early retirement if not acknowledged by the UFC.
“The biggest problem Islam has is a thing that beat his coach twice and that ultimately retired – Khabib did not retire because he didn’t want to fight Conor (McGregor) a second time,” Sonnen said. “The UFC showed him the wrong numbers. Every time they had a meeting, they showed more commas and more zeroes. That was the wrong number. If they would have made the weight class 170, they would have got Khabib for one more fight. They’re going to run into that same problem with Islam eventually.
“The No. 1 reason a combat athlete retires – they tell you it’s because their contract’s up, they tell you because they’ve had enough, they tell you because it’s too told – the No. 1 reason, No. 1, any combat athlete retires: they don’t want to make that weight anymore. They don’t want to beat the scale. Everything that goes into that. That is a 24/7 lifestyle to get those calories off to beat that damn scale.”
- Matthew Wells and Mike Bohn
