"Would he be getting this shot?" - Chael Sonnen questions if Islam Makhachev would get title fight if he weren't the "heir" to "king" Khabib Nurmagomedov
Islam Makhachev will face Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22 in a fight that will decide the new king of the lightweights. The UFC's 155lb division is currently without a champion after 'do Bronx' was stripped of his title in a controversial weigh-in incident at UFC 274.
Most stacked card of the year? 😳
#UFC #UFC280 https://t.co/3yvIt0Psa4
Makhachev was supposed to fight Beneil Dariush in a No.1 contender's fight. However, Dariush was forced to bow out owing to an injury. After Oliveira finished Justin Gaethje, former lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov said the only fight to be made was Oliveira vs. Makhachev in Abu Dhabi.
Although on a ten-fight winning streak, Islam Makhachev has only one win over an opponent ranked in the top 10, which was a short-notice fight against Dan Hooker. His latest win was another short-notice fight against unranked Bobby Green.
Many have questioned the legitimacy of Makhachev's title shot, including Dan Hooker. 'The Hangman' recently expressed his surprise at Makhachev's title opportunity, given that both of his recent wins were against short-notice opponents in favorable stylistic matchups. Chael Sonnen made note of the same in a recent episode of Beyond The Fight and said:
"If Islam was named anything other than Islam Makhachev, would he be getting this shot? If Islam did not have the blessing as the heir apparent to the throne by king Khabib, would he be getting this shot?"
'The Bad Guy' proceeded to state that he believes the Dagestani would've found himself in a title fight even if he wasn't Khabib Nurmagomedov's teammate. According to Sonnen, Makhachev's near-perfect record and winning streak is enough to justify his shot at UFC gold.
Watch the full video below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Charles Oliveira was trying to avoid fighting Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi
It's no secret that 'do Bronx' was eyeing a huge fight against Conor McGregor and wanted Islam Makhachev to fight another top-ranked contender before earning a title shot. He later said he'd like to fight Makhachev in his home country of Brazil, as opposed to Abu Dhabi, which will see the crowd favor the Dagestani.
In a recent appearance on the Mike Finch Show, Khabib Nurmagomedov addressed the upcoming lightweight title clash between his teammate and the former champion. 'The Eagle' said:
"Who cares what he want, you know? And he [Oliveira] cannot make decision, Islam cannot make decision... We don't choose location. UFC send us location, we fly. Doesn't matter. They tell us, 'Okay, go to Brazil', we gonna go Brazil, no problem. But Abu Dhabi, it's like, it's our territory brother. I think he understand this and he try to little bit, like, avoid, you know? But now, it is what it is."
Watch the video below: