Although Khabib Nurmagomedov has bid adieu to the sport of MMA in a competitive capacity, rumors about his probable return just won’t die down. What initially was wishful thinking among the fans to witness the MMA phenom back in action, has now been further fueled by ‘The Eagle’s financial woes. And recently, adding further to the buzz, Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen claimed the UFC did try to bring back ‘The Eagle’. However, everything seemingly went downhill after Dana White and Co. made a mistake of significant proportions and focussed on the ‘wrong numbers.’

The wish to see the Dagestani legend, who retired a bit too early, make his return has been there ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov hung up his gloves, a decision quite directly influenced by the death of his father, who was also his mentor. Later, Nurmagomedov also clarified that what added to this decision was his desire to focus on other aspects of life, especially his family. However, Chael Sonnen believes that ‘The Eagle’ could have made his return to fight in his 30th MMA fight, if not for the UFC focussing more on the wrong thing.

“There is no part about he [Nurmagomedov] can’t come back and do one more [fight]. Now, the UFC would have got him. They would have been able to talk him into that one [fight]. They looked at the wrong numbers,” Chael Sonnen revealed on his YouTube channel. ‘The American Gangster’ believes that Dana White should have focussed on settling the weight class issues rather than thinking about the money he could offer Khabib Nurmagomeodv to sway him back to fight again.

“Every time they had a meeting, they brought him more commas than zeros. It’s the wrong number. The number they needed to adjust was the weight class,” Chael Sonnen added. This revelation is especially intriguing, to say the least, given that the fighter had to close shop in Russia. Yes, Khabib Nurmagomedov owes over $3.4 million to the Russian government in the form of unpaid taxes. Consequently, apart from his gym and frozen businesses, even private assets such as his bank accounts and lavish array of car collections have also been seized by the  Russian Federal Tax Service.

Now you get the buzz around his potential comeback to the octagon? Well, the fighter himself has yet to comment on the trajectory he chooses here forth, but focussing back on the blunder Uncle Chael brought to light, it also ended the potential for what could have been a getaway for the fighter- a potential rematch against none other than Conor McGregor. Surely the match could have made both the promotion and the fighters a lot of money, thus putting an end to his financial despairs.

Dana White’s blunder may have eradicated the chances of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor 2

When Conor McGregor’s final weight class was announced for his fight against Michael Chandler, it turned out to be welterweight. There were even talks about a potential 165 lbs division, but that did not happen. As such, Chael Sonnen claims that the UFC could have done the same thing for Khabib Nurmagomedov. Also, in doing so, we could have gotten the rematch of the biggest UFC fight in history. That would have been an added bonus for Dana White and Co. as well.

“They [the UFC] could have made it 165 and done whatever you do there, they could have gone 170, they could have gone a super fight, they could have done both. They could have taken and accepted his belt back and then moved him against Conor for 170. Conor would have done it,” Chael Sonnen further stated.

Nevertheless, the UFC legend hopes that the UFC take this into account and go back to work on adjusting Khabib Nurmagomedov in a proper weight class if he returns. “They go back to Khabib, they got to fix that. It was a mistake that they made. They adjusted the wrong number.”

As of now, the potential for this seems slim, especially with Chandler on the bench! But what do you think? Do you think ‘The Eagle’ would return if the UFC adjusts his weight class? Drop your comments below.