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Chael Sonnen ranks Khabib above Charles Oliveira in greatest lightweights list ahead of UFC 280

Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov remains the greatest lightweight the division has seen despite the recent excellence of Charles Oliveira. Ahead of UFC 280, Chael Sonnen has shared his thoughts on just exactly who is the greatest lightweight to compete in the UFC. A victory for Charles Oliveira over Khabib’s protégé, Islam Makhachev, would certainly […]

Chael Sonnen believes Khabib Nurmagomedov remains the greatest lightweight the division has seen despite the recent excellence of Charles Oliveira.

Ahead of UFC 280, Chael Sonnen has shared his thoughts on just exactly who is the greatest lightweight to compete in the UFC. A victory for Charles Oliveira over Khabib’s protégé, Islam Makhachev, would certainly help him lay claim to being the best 155-pounder the promotion has ever seen.

As it stands, however, Chael Sonnen remains of the opinion that the aforementioned Nurmagomedov holds the number one spot in the overall lightweight division.

The former UFC contender says this simply comes down to the fact that Khabib was not once troubled in a matchup during his undefeated reign.

Discussing the matter on his YouTube channel, Sonnen emphasised the point that Oliveira was moments from defeat in all of his title matchups whilst he believes the same cannot be said for Khabib.

“Forget about the 61 seconds against Poirier, forget about the four minutes against Gaethje, you can back the tape up to Michael Chandler. Every single one of those fights have a single theme – which is Charles almost lost. That’s the difference.

“Whether Khabib was a little bit slower and a little bit more steady, he was never once in trouble. Those two never met up, it was the match-up that we did even discuss. When Khabib was here, I don’t even know how close Charles was, there was still massive talk just for time frame of getting Khabib in with Ferguson. So then Charles emerged and we go ‘my god how good is this guy’ and he was here at the same time as Khabib and that is relevant.

Chael Sonnen believes Charles Oliveira could overtake Khabib as the greatest lightweight

Despite listing Khabib at the top of the rankings, Chael Sonnen also mentioned that if Oliveira continues to build upon his recent success, he very well could overtake the undefeated Russian.

“How can we say Khabib is the absolute best if we have got the guy who is next in line, he was a guy who was ranked at six or seven or eight or whatever he was. So based on what have I just told you we know there is a belief that we put Khabib at one and Charles at two but we understand that Charles can pass Khabib.” (Transcribed by Mirror)

As it appears Oliveira is feeling very confident ahead of his title matchup going as far as saying that he will defeat Makhachev in the first round. If he is able to do so it would surely force Sonnen and others who agree with his sentiment to reconsider exactly who is the greatest lightweight to ever compete in the promotion.

Who do you consider the greatest lightweight to ever compete in the UFC?

AKA’s Javier Mendez claims Khabib Nurmagomedov can be ‘the greatest coach of all time’

American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez has high praise for his former student Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ has taken to coaching since retiring as an undefeated UFC world champion and has coached Islam Makhachev into a title match at UFC 280. While speaking on the UFC Unfiltered Podcast, Mendez explained how he sees Nurmagomedov as […]

While speaking on the UFC Unfiltered Podcast, Mendez explained how he sees Nurmagomedov as a coach and trainer. He said:

“He’s been coaching forever. Even when he was fighting, he was coaching. He’d be sparring through these five rounds and all of a sudden he’d be sitting there with us coaching the guys. He’s been doing that forever.”

Mendez added the attitude Khabib Nurmagomedov has regarding educating training partners is passed down from his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Abdulmanap was a coach of the national freestyle wrestling team for the Republic of Dagestan. The AKA coach continued:

“His father had trained him from such a young age to take the responsibility over, as a fighter, as a coach, and he’s taking over his father’s footsteps. He’s learned from me, he’s learned from his father, mostly his father. But to me, he’s on track, in my opinion, because of his age, what he’s doing, the camp I see, the fighters he has, he’s on track to being the greatest coach of all time, in my opinion. I see it. I see the writing on the wall.” [Transcript courtesy of BJPenn.com]

See the full interview below:

Khabib Nurmagomedov as a coach

Since retiring in October 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov has dedicated more of his focus to being a cornerman and coach for his fellow students. The Dagestani fighter most notable has coached Islam Makhachev on his ten-fight unbeaten streak into a UFC title shot later this month.

The Russian fighter also has trained Abubakar Nurmagomedov who has had one victory since 2020 in the UFC. Plus, undefeated UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov has gone 3-0 in that time. Additionally, Usman Nurmagomedov went a perfect 4-0 in Bellator to maintain his unbeaten streak. Other fighters he has coached and cornered include Zubaira Tukhugov, Tagir Ulanbekov, Islam Mamedov, Gadzhi Rabadanov, and Saygid Izagakhmaev.

While he leaves an incredible legacy in MMA by retiring as an undefeated champion, according to Mendez he is still building his legacy as a mentor and a coach to his fellow Dagestani fighters.

Khabib Names The Only 3 Fights He’s Woken Up To Watch In 2022

Some people watch UFC fights religiously, while others tune in for the pay-per-view events. Surprisingly, former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov falls closer to the latter category — keeping his 2022 tally in single digits. Following his victo…

Continue Reading Khabib Names The Only 3 Fights He’s Woken Up To Watch In 2022 at MMA News.

Khabib Believes There’s Been A “Decline” In MMA

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that the sport of mixed martial arts has been on a decline in recent times. During his in-cage career, Khabib amassed an unblemished 29-0 record that includes 13 triumphs inside the Octagon. Among his perfect promotional slate are title defenses against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Just Gaethje….

Continue Reading Khabib Believes There’s Been A “Decline” In MMA at MMA News.

Charles Oliveira ready to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in comeback clash: ‘I’ll always be ready’

Brazil’s ‘Do Bronx’ Charles Oliveira is about to fight the protege of Khabib Nurmagomedov when he faces Islam Machachev in the main event of UFC 280. Many fans have been asking for a return of the retired Russian, Nurmagomedov. The Dagestani wrestler vacated his UFC lightweight title as an undefeated professional fighter and vowed never […]

On a comeback fight against the former world champion, Charles Oliveira said he is highly interested. While speaking in an interview with ESPN, ‘Do Bronx’ said:

“Well, the fight is against Islam (Makhachev). Whenever he’s [Khabib] willing to get back and get on with it. I’ll always be ready.”

The Brazilian-born fighter also said he has his doubts, adding that an Oliveira vs. Nurmagomedov matchup is unlikely to happen. He continued:

“Honestly, I don’t think he’s going to be fighting again. He said he’s retired, he’s done. And I fully respect that decision.”

See the full interview with Charles Oliveira and ESPN below:

Charles Oliveira will be fighting for the vacant lightweight title in Abu Dhabi against Islam Machachev. ‘Do Bronx’ was the reigning champion until a weight miss against Justin Gaethje made him ineligible to retain the title. The 32-year-old Brazilian is the top-ranked lightweight in the promotion with impressive stoppage wins over fighters such as Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler, among many others.

Charles Oliveira is the most prolific submission artist in UFC history

It was not an easy path for the Favela-born Charles Oliveira to earn the UFC world title. As a young child, due to arthritis and heart issues, he was unable to compete in sports. Later, due to a family friend, he fell in love with practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

‘Do Bronx’ entered the UFC as a young phenom having won multiple one-night tournaments in Brazil. He struggled with making weight and jumped around in different weight divisions trying to find success. In his first several years in the UFC, he earned a middling record of 10-8-0 1 NC. But something changed.

The Brazilian-born Oliveira changed camps to the Chute Boxe academy and found a home at lightweight. Currently, he is on an 11-fight win streak. The 32-year-old athlete has also earned multiple records in the UFC such as the most submission wins in UFC history at 16 and the most finishes in UFC history at 19.

Charles Oliveira has already carved out an incredible legacy in MMA and is still making history. He will look to reclaim his lost throne at UFC 280, but standing in his way is the wrestling powerhouse of Russia’s Islam Machachev who is also on an impressive 10-fight win streak.

Khabib Nurmagomedov claims UFC rival Tony Ferguson’s ‘time is up’: ‘I think he needs the money’

Former undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov has claimed that former interim titleholder and arch-rival, Tony Ferguson is only continuing fighting amid his continued losing streak, in order to afford his taxes and bills in the state of California. Khabib, who was infamously tied to both title and non-title fights with Ferguson on five separate […]

Khabib, who was infamously tied to both title and non-title fights with Ferguson on five separate occasions during their respective runs atop the lightweight division, without ever sharing the Octagon with the Oxnard veteran.

For Khabib, the Dagestan grappler called time on his professional career back in September 2020 on ‘Fight Island’ – submitting common-foe, Justin Gaethje with a second triangle to successfully unify the division titles.

For Ferguson, the former interim lightweight champion headlined UFC 279 in an impromptu welterweight headliner against Nate Diaz just last month, starting brightly before suffering an eventual fourth round guillotine choke loss.

The defeat came as the faltering Ferguson’s fifth consecutively, following defeats to Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira, and the aforenoted, Gaethje.

Khabib Nurmagomedov claims Tony Ferguson is only competing in order to make money

Sharing his thoughts on the continued skid of Ferguson recently ahead of his protégé, Islam Makhachev’s UFC 280 title fight against Oliveira, former champion, Khabib claimed Ferguson needs to fight for money, maintaining his time in the sport is gone.

“His (Tony Ferguson) time is up, and there’s no way to get it back,” Khabib Nurmagomedov told UFC Russia during a recent interview. “Not Khabib, not Tony (Ferguson), nobody. We had our time, and it passed.”

“He continues to fight, he needs money,” Khabib Nurmagomedov continued. “You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family, I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”

In his most recent win as part of a division-best run of 12 consecutive victories, Ferguson defeated the now-retired, Donald Cerrone with a second round doctor’s stoppage TKO win back in June 2019.