Is Islam Makhachev too protected to be punished? On a recent episode of the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ podcast, Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier peeled back the curtain on the lightweight division’s tangled web. With the Dagestani champion aiming for ‘champ-champ’ status, and Ilia Topuria knocking on the door, the current landscape is looking murkier than ever.
The conversation took a sharp turn when Cormier mentioned rumblings about Makhachev facing the threat of being stripped. But Sonnen wasn’t having it. To him, Makhachev’s belt is coated in armor, not just because of his dominance, but because of who stands behind him. Khabib Nurmagomedov. A name so revered, Sonnen believes the UFC wouldn’t dare cross it, even by extension.
Cormier opened the floor, surprised at the UFC’s alleged threat as he stated, “I saw something yesterday that said it’s either defend or be stripped for Islam.”
But Sonnen wasn’t buying it. He shut it down quickly as he fired back with, “I heard that too, but there’s no way that’s true. Nobody would dare cross King Khabib. No way. Not in this they wouldn’t even when Khabib tried to give his own damn belt back, they wouldn’t accept it.”
And there it is. The phrase that echoed louder than anything else in the episode—’King Khabib’.
Chael Sonnen believes nobody would dare to strip Islam Makhachev of the title
“Nobody would dare cross King Khabib. When Khabib tried to give his own damn belt back, they wouldn’t accept it. They’re trying to insist that Ilia Topuria vacated the title — if you look at the… pic.twitter.com/pHLzlLeyBV
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 25, 2025
The reverence in Sonnen’s voice was hard to miss. He reminded fans that even when ‘The Eagle’ tried to give his belt back, the UFC wouldn’t take it. When the Dagestani champion announced his retirement from the sport after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Dana White had stated at the time, “I think that he’s not going to retire.”
Well, we all know how that turned out. In Sonnen’s eyes, Makhachev is untouchable—not because of favoritism, but because of how little he asks. ‘The Bad Guy’ then shared, “He’s asked for one thing, which is he’d like to be a 170-pounder. He don’t wanna be at fifty-five anymore.”
And here’s where things get tricky.
Ilia Topuria just moved up from featherweight and left his belt behind to chase after Makhachev. But did he really vacate it? Sonnen is skeptical because, according to him, “They’re trying to insist to us that Ilia Topuria vacated the title. I’m willing to play along, but they only vacated the title because they say he vacated the title. If you look at the actions of what actually happened, he was stripped.”
So, what does that mean for the lightweight title picture? Well, Ben Askren has an idea!
‘Funky’ calls on Dana White to do his “stuff” to force Islam Makhachev’s hand
Ben Askren isn’t one to hold his tongue. The former UFC welterweight champion recently laid it out plain on an episode of the ‘Funky and The Champ’ podcast. If Islam Makhachev refuses to fight Ilia Topuria, Askren believes Dana White should pull the trigger.
Askren bluntly stated, “I think Dana (White) should just do Dana stuff and just say, ‘Hey, Islam, if you don’t want to fight, you’re stripped.’”
Bold? Yes. But not without precedent. Askren reminded fans that White has a history of making champions defend or walk away. According to him, “If you’re the champion, you’re supposed to defend the belt against the best person, right? So Ilia has beaten two legends in a row.”
In Askren’s eyes, Topuria has done more than enough. He’s not just undefeated. He didn’t just beat two legends—he finished Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Back-to-back. That kind of resume usually earns respect. In this case, it’s earning demands.
‘Funky’ also pointed to a simple logic. Arman Tsarukyan was originally next in line but pulled out. So why not let the surging Topuria slide in?
But here’s the question: can the UFC afford to strip Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s heir, over a matchup dispute? We’ve already seen what happened when Topuria moved up and supposedly “vacated” his belt. Could the same be looming over Makhachev if he refuses to play ball? Or is his lineage too powerful to touch? Let us know in the comments below!
The post “Nobody Would Dare Cross King Khabib” – Islam Makhachev Shielded Over Potential Stripping of UFC Title by Chael Sonnen appeared first on EssentiallySports.