"I saw him let go of that arm" - Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov moved from armbar to triangle choke on Justin Gaethje
Chael Sonnen has backed up what Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed regarding his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
That night on Fight Island, Khabib Nurmagomedov tore through Justin Gaethje like a hot knife through butter and put him to sleep in their UFC lightweight title clash. Afterwards, 'The Eagle' announced his decision to retire from mixed martial arts and focus on the next phase of his life.
In the months following the win, Khabib revealed that he switched from an armbar to a triangle choke in the final sequence. The Russian supposedly didn't want to seriously hurt 'The Highlight' in front of his family, who were in attendance.
Now, Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on whether or not that is true. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the former two-division UFC title challenger claimed he saw the exact chain of events with his own eyes, and that Khabib told the truth.
"I was a Khabib believer and I didn’t even know how good he was until he fought Gaethje," Sonnen said. "So Khabib went to his back, went to an armbar, let the armbar go, which he later says is because he saw Justin’s mother in the front row. He knew Justin was gonna want to hug his mother after the fight, so he didn’t break his arm."
"Many guys will re-manufacture history to make them look good," he added. "But I think Khabib was telling the truth, because I saw him let go of that arm. I saw him look into the crowd and let go of that arm."
Catch Chael Sonnen's take in the video below:
What's next for Khabib Nurmagomedov?
In terms of mixed martial arts, it definitely feels as if Khabib Nurmagomedov was telling the truth when he suggested he wouldn't be returning to the sport. Sure, he can continue to train with his teammates and friends, but actually committing to getting back into the game is a whole other story.
Khabib is currently focusing on making the Eagle Fighting Championship as good as it can be. Aside from that, he might also try his hand at football, better known as soccer in some parts of the world.
Needless to say, the Russian sensation has plenty of options. The great thing for Khabib Nurmagomedov is that his legacy inside the octagon is firmly intact.