Chael Sonnen explains the ‘#1 reason’ why the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov left the UFC.
Retirements in MMA don’t last all that long with many fighters coming to pick up the gloves they once left behind but not in the case of the former UFC Lightweight Champion.
No, at 29-0, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport at the top of his game in 2020 following a successful title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
In his post-fight interview, the former champion said he was honoring a promise to his mother, who had wanted him to retire after the passing of his father, mentor and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
However, Chael Sonnen doesn’t think that’s necessarily why Nurmagomedov walked away from MMA.
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Chael Sonnen on why most fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov retire
A multiple-time title challenger across the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, world-famous UFC analyst Chael Sonnen believes Nurmagomedov retired because of his weight cutting issues.
Nurmagomedov struggled to make 155lbs throughout his career, missing weight one time in the UFC and barely making championship weight for his last weigh-in for Justin Gaethje.
“The number one reason fighters retire is ’cause they don’t wanna make weight anymore,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
“Khabib, 29-0, just for example, they would’ve got to 30-0. They were changing the wrong numbers. They were adding commas and zeros. They needed to change the weight class.”
Chael Sonnen says Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘done making 155lbs’
There’s a 15-pound difference between the lightweight and welterweight limits instead of the usual 10. Nurmagomedov’s ideal fight weight would probably be somewhere in between like at 165lbs, a weight class the UFC doesn’t have.
“You would’ve got Khabib, you’d have got him one more time,” Sonnen said if Nurmagomedov had moved up in weight.
“Khabib retired from the sport ’cause he was done making 155 [lbs]. That’s the truth,” Sonnen said.
“There’s no difference in Khabib and everybody else. It is the number one reason that guys retire.”
Chael Sonnen continued, saying weight cutting for fighters isn’t just an aspect of the sport but a lifestyle they have to put themselves through…
One he thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov had enough of after 29 professional fights.