Khabib Nurmagomedov aka the ‘Eagle’ and Islam Makhachev might not be biological brothers, but they are childhood friends way back from Dagestan. Both of them started their training under Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, and have a special bond. Both of them became combat sambo champions and UFC lightweight champions. But there is one big difference between the pair, and it could soon well be two.

Khabib’s ‘0’ is intact at 29-0, while Islam has a solitary loss on his record (25-1). While ‘the Eagle’ did not change his weight class in his career, Islam Makhachev is looking to change it in the near future. There is a reason why the Dagestani fighter did not change his weight class and this unique aspect was recently addressed by Chael Sonnen.

In his latest YouTube video about Makhachev supposedly going to Welterweight, he spoke about how the ‘Eagle’ not changing his weight class was a bold move. Sonnen has previously spoken about both Khabib and Makhachev and this time he pointed out a unique move by Khabib in his career that could have made or even broken it. He pointed out, “Khabib did several amazing things within his career. But he did one unique thing in his career and that was when he did not want to make 155 pounds anymore.

He continued, “Instead of going to 170, he exited the sport instead of being in the discussion of being the greatest ever and the champion of all these different things. He put all of his eggs in one basket which was the greatest lightweight which was a risk but he got it.”

Sonnen makes a very valid point here. If you look at the number of stars moving between divisions in the UFC, or MMA in general, you will see that it is no longer an uncommon practise. In fact, some of these moves tie into the GOAT debate that Nurmagomedov is a part of.

Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and BJ Penn are some of the big names competing against the Dagestani in the GOAT debate, who have conquered multiple divisions. Even his greatest rival, Conor McGregor is a two-weight UFC champion (the first simultaneous one too). Being a simultaneous two-division world champion in UFC is not easy and it has only been done by 5 fighters so far. But there have been 9 multi-weight champions in the UFC, the latest addition of which was Alex Pereira.

Many fighters had fallen short or never even tried to go up or down in their weight class. The ‘Eagle’ might have had his reasons, but considering his dominance at the time, many believed he should have tried a hand at 170 lbs. However, ‘the Eagle’ stayed resolute in his decision and Sonnen also explained why he never changed weight classes. 

Was Khabib Nurmagomedov a weight bully?

According to Sonnen, Khabib Nurmagomedov was smart and calculative; the Russian knew he would be his best self at 155 pounds and prepared himself to the T every single time. He walked around at 200 lbs but chose to fight in lightweight because he was able to beat every single fighter in that category. This is one reason why the champion had to face weight-bullying allegations.

Fighters often chose to fight at lower weight classes than close to their natural weight to have the upper hand. Unless the weight cut is too draining, they usually have the advantage in size, endurance, and power. A perfect example would be Conor McGregor at featherweight. When he moved up to lightweight and welterweight, many claimed that his power did not carry from the 145 lbs division.

As for Khabib, the former champion has a history of bad weight cuts. Back at UFC 160 in 2013, he weighed in at 158.5 lbs, 2.5 lbs over the limit for his bout against Abel Trujillo. This was his only weight miss in the UFC. But, he was hospitalized after a weight cut gone wrong ahead of this UFC 209 bout against Tony Ferguson in 2017.

Ahead of his last bout against Gaethje at UFC 254, the Russian was part of a controversial weigh-in. Coming in with a broken toe, a mumps infection during camp, and the weight of his father’s death, Nurmagomedov looked like his ghost on the scale, for the few seconds he was there. The official swiped the scale too quickly before it stabilized, leaving many suspicious of foul play.

For an athlete with such weight-cutting issues, the solution is simple – move up a weight class. McGregor even suggested the same once in a backhanded jibe at his rival. So why didn’t Khabib do it? Let us know your thoughts on it in the comments below.