UFC could lose Islam Makhachev like they lost Khabib Nurmagomedov, predicts Hall of Famer: "Showed him the wrong numbers"

A UFC Hall of Famer is predicting that Islam Makhachev could follow in the footsteps of his friend-turned-coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and retire early. Chael Sonnen provided a brief explanation of why he believes this could happen.

Nurmagomedov retired from MMA at the peak of his career after his third successful lightweight title defense at UFC 254 in October 2020 against Justin Gaethje. In the octagon, he announced his retirement, explaining that he did not want to continue without his father, whom he had lost to COVID-19 earlier that year. He also revealed that he had promised his mother he would not continue in the fight business.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sonnen suggested that ‘The Eagle’ retired early due to the struggles of weight cutting, calling it one of the most painful challenges an athlete endures.

He also predicted that the UFC could lose Makhachev for the same reason if the promotion doesn’t give him an opportunity to fight at welterweight. Sonnen said:

“Khabib did not retire because he didn't want to fight Conor [McGregor] a second time. The UFC showed him the wrong numbers every time they had a meeting they showed more commas and more zeros, but it was the wrong number. If they had made the weight class 170 [pounds], they would have caught Khabib for one more fight.”

He continued:

“But the number one reason any combat athlete retires is that they don’t want to make that weight anymore. Sooner or later, it bites everybody in the a**. Islam can either retire like Khabib did. Khabib didn’t want to tell anybody he didn’t want to make the weight, and no combat athlete will ever admit that… So, they can either eventually part ways with Islam and watch him retire and talk about what could have been, or they can move him out of the goddamn weight class. That’s the truth.”

Check out Chael Sonnen’s comments below (33:55):

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Islam Makhachev hints at permanent move to welterweight

Islam Makhachev etched his name in the UFC history books by surpassing the record for the most lightweight title defenses in the promotion. He defended the belt for the fourth time at UFC 311 against Renato Moicano, securing a first-round submission victory via D’Arce choke.

In a recent media appearance shared by Home of Fight on X, the reigning UFC lightweight champion hinted at a potential permanent move to welterweight, stating:

“I don’t see a lot of work to do in my division, I beat almost everybody. I think about moving up to 170, and I can stay there.”

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below: