Chael Sonnen Fears Khabib Nurmagomedov Could Miss Weight For UFC 242
Chael Sonnen believes one bet worth placing ahead of UFC 242 is whether Khabib Nurmagomedov will make weight.
Nurmagomedov takes on Dustin Poirier in a lightweight title unification bout in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi this Saturday. “The Eagle” has notably struggled with making 155 pounds in the past, but has made weight for his last three fights.
Layoff A Factor For Nurmagomedov?
However, Sonnen believes his long layoff from UFC 229 which took place in October last year could play a factor this time:
“Not for nothing, guys. If you’re in Vegas, or you got a line on a sportsbook and you want to place some outside action on this fight, you should place it in one place and one place only — Khabib Nurmagomedov to make weight,” Sonnen said in a recent video. “No, I’m not done. Khabib to make weight. That’s the bet right there.
“If what I am saying is true, if Khabib has not been training the same because he’s been out for a year, if Khabib lives in Dagestan and trains in San Jose, if he’s got any kind of the rise like everybody else does where when something great happens to him [and thinks] ‘I don’t need to work as hard, and I’ve got this one figured out, and I just beat the biggest star, so beating a guy lower ranked than him that he lost to, I got this all figured out.’ Guys, you’re dealing with a man who’s missed weight one, two, three, four times, while fighting three times a year. How there is no dialogue that we’re going to have some drama getting Khabib to the scale when he hasn’t been in there since 2018. I’m just telling you, it does surprise me.”
If Sonnen’s prediction is correct, that would mean Nurmagomedov would not be eligible to win the title even if he beats Poirier. Such a scenario would also represent a huge headache for the UFC and put the division on hold again.
So for everyone’s sake, let’s hope that Sonnen is wrong.
What do you make of Sonnen’s comments?
