UFC icon Chael Sonnen recently shared an intriguing theory about an error on the promotion’s part that may have potentially prevented Khabib Nurmagomedov from returning to action. Sonnen pointed out that the UFC was bringing the former UFC lightweight champion the “wrong numbers” at their meetings.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely considered among the greatest champions in UFC history and the best lightweight ever to reign over the division. ‘The Eagle’ has a perfect 29-0 record and has defeated high-profile MMA stars like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Rafael dos Anjos.
The Dagestani grappling savant faced Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020 in the last fight of his career. Nurmagomedov beat Gaethje via second-round submission and announced his retirement from the sport. He clarified that his father’s passing made it difficult for him to continue competing and that he had vowed to his mother that he would call it a career.
Since then, Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn’t stepped foot in the cage. However, fans are ever hopeful of his return and many long to see him run it back against McGregor. In a recent YouTube video, Sonnen theorized where the UFC went wrong in their efforts to bring Khabib Nurmagomedov back. He said:
“The UFC would’ve got him. They would have been able to talk him into that one more. They looked at the wrong numbers. Every time they had a meeting, they brought him more commas and zeros, the wrong number. The number they needed to adjust was the weight class.”
Sonnen continued:
“They could have made it 165 [pounds] and done whatever they do there. They could have gone 170 [pounds]. They could have gone super fight. They could have done both. They could’ve taken and accepted his belt back and moved him against Conor [McGregor] for 170 [pounds]… That was the mistake that they made.”
Catch Chael Sonnen’s comments below (4:57):