Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov would have stayed in the UFC with different offer on the table

Chael Sonnen is one of many in the MMA world who still pines after one more Khabib Nurmagomedov fight. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The American Gangster' expressed his belief that had the UFC brought different offers to the negotiations table, 'The Eagle' would have fought one more time.

In particular, Sonnen believes that the unbeaten Dagestani would have accepted a 30th professional fight had the UFC offered to change his weight class or provide him with an opportunity at welterweight.

In Sonnen's opinion, weight-cutting is the biggest cause of fighter retirements.

"The number one reason fighters retire is because they don't want to make weight anymore. Khabib at 29-0, just for example, they would have got to 30-0, they were changing the wrong numbers, they were adding commas and zeros, they needed to change the weight class. You would have got Khabib. You'd have got him one more time. Khabib retired from the sport because he was done making 155. That's the truth."

Check out Chael Sonnen's thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov (8:27):

It's a curious claim, given that 'The Eagle' has been open and honest about his reasons for retiring. 'The Eagle' has always asserted that he retired from MMA over family reasons. He could not bring himself to fight after the untimely death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Moreover, he also promised his mother that he would not fight without his father by his side: a promise he has kept regardless of the offers the UFC made, including a possible bout with Georges St-Pierre at welterweight.

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Chael Sonnen overlooked an aspect of Khabib Nurmagomedov's career

There was a time when the conversation about Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting at welterweight emerged. However, Chael Sonnen seems to have forgotten this. 'The Eagle' was never, for example, keen on fighting Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title at the time.

Moreover, Nurmagomedov had made it clear following his retirement that there was no matchup, either at lightweight or welterweight, and no amount of money, that the UFC could offer to make him return from retirement. So, the notion that he retired due to weight-cutting doesn't hold much water.