"I will give a $100,000 to Tony Ferguson or RDA if they beat Islam Makhachev in a grappling match" - Ali Abdelaziz tells Chael Sonnen
Islam Makhachev is quickly becoming one of the stars of the lightweight division after he beat Thiago Moises. The Dagestani fighter extended his record to an incredible 20-1, and he is now on an eight-fight winning streak.
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen spoke about Makhachev's performance in a video uploaded to YouTube and revealed that he got an interesting call from Islam Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Sonnen said:
"I just got a phone call from Ali, and Ali said, 'I'll give a hundred thousand dollars to Tony Ferguson or RDA (Rafael dos Anjos) if they grapple Islam, in Submission Underground, but they gotta beat him. If they beat him, I, Ali, will personally bring and give one hundred thousand dollars."
Submission Underground is Chael Sonnen's show that he created in 2016. The show currently airs live on UFC Fight Pass.
"So I said Ali, is this private? Do you want me to call these guys and try to line the match up or can I make this public? He said 'you can make it public.' Now, of course they would also have my side. Just to show up, they're gonna have something else," Sonnen concluded.
Chael Sonnen has had several MMA fighters competing at SUG, but Islam Makhachev is not one of them. It's highly unlikely that one of these fights materializes, but Ferguson and dos Anjos might consider it, given the amount of money involved.
Watch the full video here:
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Islam Makhachev calls out Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson
In a direct attack on almost everyone in the lightweight division, Islam Makhachev called out Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson after beating Thiago Moises.
The Dagestani said he'd give RDA three to four months to prepare for him in his initial post-fight interview. However, he also called out Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson in later interviews, both of whom haven't responded to him.