3 Years After Back and Forth With Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov Placing UFC Champ as GOAT Prompts a Response From Bitter Rival Chael Sonnen- “That’s Not How This Works”

Who would have thought that the retired undefeated UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov wouldn’t make it to the list of the top 15 fighters of all time? The man is 29-0 and undefeated in a division that houses powerhouses. However, the list he didn’t make it to, is his own, and that just goes to prove how humble ‘The Eagle’ really is.

Nurmagomedov recently divulged his list of the best fighters, and he made some shocking revelations. While some were rightfully placed, some rankings didn’t sit right with former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen. The former UFC fighter has his own YouTube podcast where he shares his opinion of UFC fights and fighters. In one of the latest videos, he expressed his disapproval of the list which was topped by his former rival, Jon Jones.

Chael Sonnen irked by Nurmagomedov’s list

Sonnen had a lot to say about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s list of the top 15 fighters according to him. Apparently, ‘The Eagle’ placed Anderson Silva at number three. Sonnen seemed okay with that ranking. However, he had a problem with Nurmagomedov placing Georges St-Pierre at number two. ‘The Eagle’ had ranked Sonnen’s former rival, Jon Jones as the number one, alongside Fedor Emelianenko.

“Let me get to Khabib’s number one – don’t get to my problem with this list. It is number one we’ve got a tie – Fedor Emelianenko and Jon Jones. Fine!“, started Sonnen, who seemed perturbed by the order and rank one.

“And it’s not just Khabib that admires Jon Jones by the way. Khabib’s father said some beautiful things about Jon Jones. If you wanna go back and you wanna look that up… But I will tell you why there was… I was kind of impressed with Khabib, for putting John number one. You want to know why? When Khabib retired at 29-0… when he was in that cage with Justin Gaethje, he did ask for something and it wasn’t a future opponent.“, said the retired UFC legend.

He then proceeded to reveal what ‘The Eagle’ asked the UFC for, after his last fight in the promotion. “You want to know what he asked for? He asked that the rankings committee put him the following week, at number one pound-for-pound. He said I am number one.” 

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What Khabib Nurmagomedov did in the ring is nearly impossible to repeat. The fighter left undefeated was peaking when he decided to retire. However, the fact that he chose to keep himself off the list, only goes to prove how grounded he is. That, in itself, makes him one of the greatest fighters ever.

The Best P4P UFC fighter – Sonnen talks about Jon Jones’ dispute with Khabib Nurmagomedov

Jon Jones has been one of the most dominant fighters in the UFC, alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although both fighters have immense respect for each other, there was a point when the two found themselves on opposite sides of the fence. The two were fighting for the top spot in the UFC and Jones didn’t agree with Nurmagomedov wanting to put himself on the top of the list of the best P4P fighters. Chael Sonnen shed some light on what went down.

“Jon Jones pushed back when it actually happened cause they did put him at number one, just for asking. And Jon Jones pushed back saying what are you doing? That’s not how this works. You can’t ask to be number one. Nobody’s beat me. Nobody’s come close. Nobody’s even… just saying that they had a little bit of a back-and-forth. Ultimately Khabib came out on top but he showed him some respect.”, he revealed. 

This went down nearly 3 years back, and it seems ‘The Eagle’ has buried the hatched and moved on. That being said, his placing Jones as one of his top MMA fighters, above Georges St-Pierre, really speaks volumes about both Jon Jones and the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov.

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