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 […]

The post Chael Sonnen Fears Khabib Nurmagomedov Could Miss Weight For UFC 242 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

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?

The post Chael Sonnen Fears Khabib Nurmagomedov Could Miss Weight For UFC 242 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Georges St-Pierre Offers Theory On Why UFC Didn’t Book Khabib Fight

Georges St-Pierre believes the UFC doesn’t want him to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov because the lightweight champion is a “significant investment” for them. “GSP” officially retired earlier this year after talk of a potential fight with Nurmagomedov eventually fell through. St-Pierre claimed that was the main reason he decided to call it a day. And while […]

The post Georges St-Pierre Offers Theory On Why UFC Didn’t Book Khabib Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Georges St-Pierre believes the UFC doesn’t want him to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov because the lightweight champion is a “significant investment” for them.

“GSP” officially retired earlier this year after talk of a potential fight with Nurmagomedov eventually fell through. St-Pierre claimed that was the main reason he decided to call it a day.

And while he isn’t completely ruling out a return, the former welterweight champion doesn’t see anything else that interests him:

“I am retired,” St-Pierre said in a recent interview (via MMA Fighting). “I retired because I didn’t want to go back and do the same thing over and over again. Taking a fight takes a lot out of me because I’m very proud so when I perform I have to do it the best I can and the result matters very much for me. So it takes a lot of stress on me. I didn’t want to take another training camp of two-three months – maybe six months with the whole building up with the promotion and everything – out of my life to fight another guy that I don’t have nothing to gain in terms of legacy.

If I fight someone and I take six months of my life to focus on it . . . I would need that to be worth it to me. Not only money-wise but legacy wise and satisfaction wise. That’s why I wanted to fight Khabib because I could have lost big but at least I could have win big.

“If I ever come back, it’s not impossible but right now I don’t see nothing. The UFC refuse a fight with Khabib and I and there’s nothing that really excites me.”

Most would assume the UFC would be interested in a St-Pierre vs. Nurmagomedov fight as it would certainly be a lucrative affair. However, “Rush” believes the promotion’s plans for Nurmagomedov would be scuppered if he delivered the first loss of his career:

“It makes sense in a way,” GSP explained. “My agent explained it to me like, maybe he [Nurmagomedov] represents a significant investment for UFC. He reaches a different type of clientele, from the Middle East, the Muslim world idolizing him. He’s an icon.

Imagine that they invest a lot of money to promote a big fight between Khabib and I and I win the fight. [Wipes hands and smiles]. I’m out. I’m not interested in signing a fight with Khabib and guarantee them that I want to go back and fight another contender.”

What do you think of St-Pierre’s comments?

The post Georges St-Pierre Offers Theory On Why UFC Didn’t Book Khabib Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

GSP Believes UFC Might Be Protecting Khabib Nurmagomedov

Georges St-Pierre has a theory on why the UFC doesn’t want him to face Khabib Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre has long expressed his interest in taking on UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The feeling is mutual as Nurmagomedov has said he&#82…

Georges St-Pierre has a theory on why the UFC doesn’t want him to face Khabib Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre has long expressed his interest in taking on UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The feeling is mutual as Nurmagomedov has said he’d like to fight St-Pierre at 155 pounds. “Rush” retired earlier this year once the UFC wouldn’t […]

The post GSP Believes UFC Might Be Protecting Khabib Nurmagomedov appeared first on MMA News.

UFC 242 Predictions: Bleacher Report Main Card Staff Picks

The Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi will play host to UFC 242. Atop the card sits a unification bout between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Dustin Poirier…

The Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi will play host to UFC 242. Atop the card sits a unification bout between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Dustin Poirier…

UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier Odds, Tickets, Predictions and Pre-Weigh-in Hype

Khabib Nurmagomedov will go for 28-0 in the main event of UFC 242 as Dustin Poirier will go to Abu Dhabi to attempt to give the champion his first loss…

Khabib Nurmagomedov will go for 28-0 in the main event of UFC 242 as Dustin Poirier will go to Abu Dhabi to attempt to give the champion his first loss…

Khabib Nurmagomedov Set For Huge Payday At UFC 242

Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying this weekend’s upcoming UFC 242 card — and he’s being paid handsomely for it. UFC 242 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and will be headlined by a lightweight title unification fight between Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. With just a few days left, it appears the event is […]

The post Khabib Nurmagomedov Set For Huge Payday At UFC 242 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying this weekend’s upcoming UFC 242 card — and he’s being paid handsomely for it.

UFC 242 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and will be headlined by a lightweight title unification fight between Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. With just a few days left, it appears the event is trending to be a huge success.

Part of that is because of Nurmagomedov and his newfound popularity worldwide following his career-defining win over Conor McGregor last October. For that bout, “The Eagle” received a $2 million purse and according to his father Abdulmanap, he is set to earn three times as much this weekend:

“We’ll make 3 to 3,5 more (than the last time),” he told RT. “We aren’t fighting for a small change, we know what we’re worth.

“It ($2 million) is not enough for us, because we are the best now. We’ve beaten the best, and we are ready to fight the best. We are popular, we know that. When we’ll enter the arena, you’ll see the reaction to us, and reaction to Poirier.”

It only goes to show that Nurmagomedov is now truly a mega star for the company.

What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s reported purse?

The post Khabib Nurmagomedov Set For Huge Payday At UFC 242 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.