Chael Sonnen torches possibility of Islam Makhachev being stripped of title thanks to "King Khabib" while sharing theory on Ilia Topuria
There is a nonexistent chance of Islam Makhachev being stripped of his UFC lightweight title. That is according to UFC legend Chael Sonnen, who recently spoke to Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier about the current landscape of the lightweight division.
Cormier brought up the fact that he had recently come across news that Makhachev will be presented with the choice of either defending his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria or risk being stripped of the belt. This, however, drew an immediate rebuttal from Sonnen.
"I heard that too, but there's no way that that's true! Nobody would dare cross King Khabib. No way, not in this case. They wouldn't even... when Khabib tried to give his own damn belt back, they wouldn't accept it. He was shoving it in their face, and they were like, 'We won't put our hands on it.' So, they're not going to take it off of his heir apparent. That's not gonna happen."
Thereafter, Sonnen shared his thoughts on Topuria's decision to vacate his featherweight title.
"They're trying to insist to us that Ilia Topuria vacated the title. I'm willing to play along, but they only vacated the title because they say he vacated the title. If you see the actions of what actually happened, he was stripped."
Check out Chael Sonnen's thoughts on Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria (5:41 and 6:36):
There is something to be said about how well-respected Khabib Nurmagomedov is, especially by the UFC top brass. With the reigning lightweight champion as his pupil, it is unlikely that the promotion will go against his wishes.
Islam Makhachev is rumored to headline UFC 317
UFC 317 takes place on International Fight Week, one of the most important periods in the year for the promotion. Yet, the card is still without a headliner. This is where Islam Makhachev enters the picture. He is the reigning lightweight champion and one of the sport's biggest stars.
Ilia Topuria, the undefeated former featherweight champion, has been calling him out for quite some time now. A rumor has emerged that the pair will headline UFC 317 together in a lightweight title fight. This is due to Topuria claiming he won't fight anyone but Makhachev, and recently tweeting that he has started a training camp.