UFC legend Chael Sonnen caused a stir with his assessment of Islam Makhachev’s impending weight change.
The Dagestani’s lightweight title vacation remains the talk of the town in mixed martial arts, with fans, fighters, and analysts alike debating the true reason for it.
Charles Oliveira put Makhachev’s move down to weight struggles, but others have gone with a different, more negative approach to the situation.
Ilia Topuria branded Makhachev a “coward,” alleging that he’s running away from their matchup, which was expected to serve as the champion’s next defense.
And Sonnen appeared to share a similar sentiment himself, though he denies using such terminology. Either way, Makhachev’s manager saw enough in his remarks to dial the UFC legend’s number.
‘Annoyed’ Ali Abdelaziz called Chael Sonnen amid Islam Makhachev back-and-forth
Plenty were quick to stand behind the lightweight kingpin after Sonnen suggested his welterweight move was a sign of “cowardice.”
Daniel Cormier defended Makhachev, as did another of his former teammates at American Kickboxing Academy in Josh Thomson.
Another to quickly push back on Sonnen’s take was evidently Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
During a recent video on his YouTube channel, ‘The Bad Guy’ sought to clarify his view and recalled the phone call he received from the “annoyed” Dominance MMA CEO.
“Islam did not want to do that fight [against Topuria] to the extent that he, too, left the division and had his belt taken away,” Sonnen said. “Islam, when he started talking about going to 170 [pounds]…he was not armed with the information that Ilia Topuria was knocking on his door, I get that. But it’s not the way a future civilization is going to be dictated this story.
“When my version of this story got retold, it said that, ‘Chael Sonnen said Islam was a coward.’ … I don’t apologize for anything ever…I didn’t call him a coward, I just didn’t. I get a phone call yesterday from Ali. Ali’s my friend, but he’s Islam’s manager. Ali’s gotta take a side here. He’s gotta roll with Islam.
“He calls me up — and I could tell by Ali’s tone and his accusations, I could tell that he did not hear me say it. He had heard the way it was reported by somebody else…and Ali was quite annoyed that I would say this about Islam.”
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Islam Makhachev’s own response to Chael Sonnen
Sonnen also got a response from Makhachev himself — supposedly.
A post on the Russian’s X account reiterated that a pursuit of “greatness” is the reason behind Makhachev’s move to welterweight.
And a sly dig at Sonnen also made its way in, with the American legend being referred to as someone who had to use “cheap trash talk” to rise through the UFC ranks.
“Chasing hype and money is not the same as chasing greatness in sport. But [an] average athlete, who built his way to the top with cheap trash talk, won’t understand that. So please [sit] and watch how others doing it, uncle Chael. #doublechamp”
Of course, many have long believed that Abdelaziz is the face posting behind his fighters’ accounts, so perhaps those words directed at Sonnen also came from the Dominance MMA CEO.