Promoter Chael Sonnen thinks UFC is playing a dangerous game by dismissing Islam Makhachev’s demand not to give him rematches. According to the former MMA fighter and current analyst, the promotion would have to provide what the fighter wants if they don’t want to lose him sooner than expected.
Makhachev is now the pound-for-pound king of UFC after submitting Charles Oliveira in October 2022 and defeating Alexander Volkanovski twice in 2023. Now at the top of the rankings, the champ is awaiting the company’s decision on who his next fight will be, with previous reports significantly echoing the name of Oliveira. Arman Tsarukyan also recently entered the title conversation, but Makhachev made it clear that he no longer wants rematches and prefers to fight Justin Gaethje instead.
Unfortunately, there is still no clarity about his next fight, with Oliveira still being the dominant name in the title shot. Sonnen thinks UFC would make a huge mistake by pushing this fight and ignoring Makhachev’s wish for new opponents. As the promoter explained, doing this could cause the MMA superstar to follow the path of Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has refused to come back due to UFC’s rematch offers.
“Islam Makhachev, you want him to keep fighting? … Do you want him to go out like Khabib?” Sonnen rhetorically asked on his YouTube channel. “There is very good evidence that Islam has cleaned out 155 pounds more than Khabib (did)… As you look at Islam, (he’s) saying, ‘I would like to go to 170 pounds.’ … If (UFC) wanted to get Khabib to consider it (returning), they needed to make it 170 pounds or a catchweight, and they needed to make it an opponent he was yet to face.”
In line with this, Sonnen believes UFC has to make the same step for Makhachev and find him the perfect matches in other divisions, which the fighter also wants to explore. In the end, the analyst warned the promotion giant that failing to do so could mean the early departure of its pound-for-pound champ from its cage.
“Islam’s already done a rematch, and now he’s saying, ‘I don’t want to do rematches,’” added Sonnen. “…For some really weird reason, (UFC) is gonna do that match (Makhachev vs. Oliveira 2)… They’re gonna find out a lot sooner than they’d have to that Islam is done… If he keeps his three fights in 2024, you are not gonna see him in 2025, that I do know… You’re giving him matches he doesn’t want to have… If you want to keep him and elongate his career, you’re gonna have to start looking at either catchweight or 170… Islam Makhachev will not weigh 155 pounds more than three times again in his life.”
