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Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre retired prematurely due to weight-cutting issues.
Sonnen, a former UFC middleweight turned analyst, has been known to share unexpected and sometimes controversial opinions on MMA.
The former UFC title challenger recently posted a video on his YouTube channel and gave a reason why he believes Nurmagomedov, St-Pierre, and other legends retired earlier than expected:
"The only reason you didn't get Khabib [Nurmagomedov] to 30-0 is you wanted to do it at 155 pounds. Khabib and everyone would have stuck around, Georges St-Pierre, write on down the list. All the guys you've ever seen retire would have done one more if you would let them go up in weight."
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Khabib Nurmagomedov retired with a professional MMA record of 29-0 following a submission win against Justin Gaethje in October 2020.
Meanwhile, Georges St-Pierre initially retired in 2013 before returning for one final fight in November 2017. The Canadian legend made history once again by defeating Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title.
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments about Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre below (7:10):
Aljamain Sterling believes Islam Makhachev surpassed Khabib Nurmagomedov's legacy
The early stages of Islam Makhachev's UFC tenure were plagued with comparisons to his close friend and longtime training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev has since separated himself from Nurmagomedov by creating his own legacy as the UFC lightweight champion.
Aljamain Sterling recently compared their legacy on his podcast and said:
''Now, Islam is one of the greatest lightweights of all time, in my opinion. I think he surpasses Khabib just based on how active he's been. I know some people think he hasn't been the most active. In terms of Khabib's run, I think Khabib had a total of like 13 or 14 UFC fights. I think Islam has already passed that, if I'm not mistaken.''
Sterling added:
"'In my opinion, he [Makhachev] surpassed him because of all the wins of the credible guys he's beaten to get to the belt and then the guys he's beaten for the belt.
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Islam Makhachev recently vacated his UFC lightweight title to pursue the welterweight throne. He is expected to challenge newly crowned champion Jack Della Maddalena later this year.
