"He left the single golden nugget" - Chael Sonnen believes Charles Oliveira's team did not rally for follow-up fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov hard enough
Chael Sonnen believes Charles Oliviera missed out big time in negotiations for his next title fight.
Oliviera is set to fight Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi on October 22 at UFC 280. Makhachev, the protege of Khabib Nurmagomedov, could have been used as a bargaining chip to lure Khabib out of retirement, or so Sonnen believes. He described it as leaving behind a "golden nugget", stating:
"Charles and his team didn't ask for it, did they [a fight with Nurmagomedov]? ... They didn't even think to ask for it... He left the single golden nugget, the single greatest piece, out of it."
Sonnen premised his argument by stating that Conor McGregor was offered the same deal publicly by Khabib.
"It was offered to McGregor, it was straight up publicy by Khabib offered to McGregor. Hey Conor, come fight Islam. If you win, I'll come back and fight you. Okay great, it was good enough for McGregor."
Although Sonnen seems sure of this, Khabib has seemingly never made this statement publicly. Nurmagomedov has repeatedly offered the opposite sentiment, stating that he is done fighting and asking others to leave him alone.
So, unless 'The Bad Guy' is privy to information unknown to the public, his argument in this case is based on a weak premise. 'Charlie Olives' could benefit from pushing for more of a Khabib match regardless, but his argument isn't as cut and dry as Sonnen is making it seem.
You can watch Chael Sonnen on the full episode of Beyond The Fight below:
Chael Sonnen suggests Volkanovski scared Oliveira into fighting Makhachev
Chael Sonnen, while discussing the Charles Oliviera vs Islam Makhachev announcement for UFC 280, offered a theory as to why Oliviera changed his tune on this match.
Oliviera seemed reluctant to fight Makhachev for a while, citing reasons such as Makhachev not having a win over a top-10 opponent. However, the fight was made and 'The Bad Guy' offered a suggestion as to what changed.
"We got Oliveira versus Makhachev. The only difference in having it done this week as opposed to two weeks ago is the fact that Alex Volkanovski has entered the weight class... possibly they aren't related, possibly they are."
The suggestion 'The Bad Guy' is making here is that Makhachev seemed the preferable opponent to Oliveira rather than Volkanovski.
Volkanovski is coming off a dominant third win over Holloway, and it is possible Oliveira didn't like what he saw. However, Oliveira has triumphed over the likes of terrifying opponents such as Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, and more, making it unlikely that fear was his motivation to take the fight with Makhachev.
You can watch the full episode of Beyond The Fight below: