Chael Sonnen opens his heart in criticizing Islam Makhachev: 'He lacks enthusiasm'

Islam makhachev He holds titles in two UFC weight classes. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.

First placed in the Ultimate weight-for-pound ranking, Islam makhachev He emerged victorious in 16 consecutive fights in the world's largest MMA organization. All this success also secured the Russian the lightweight (up to 70,3 kg) and welterweight (up to 77,1 kg) titles. However, the triumphs ended up generating an unpleasant effect, at least for... Chael Sonnen, who spoke about the subject in a video published this Thursday (2).

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In a humorous manner, the American gangster said he had difficulty being intrigued by Makhachev's fights, due to the fact that the Russian usually dominates his opponents and doesn't take great risks. In his last fight, he won. Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision and was crowned the new welterweight champion (up to 77,1 kg).

“I simply don’t think there’s any enthusiasm for Islam. Islam is magnificent. Islam has reached a level of greatness that it’s hard to imagine anyone could handle, and if you can’t believe anyone could handle it, you can’t get excited about the fight,” the former fighter stated.

Chael Sonnen says it's hard to get excited for Islam makhachev because he looks too dominant 😆🔥

"I just don't think that there is an excitement for Islam. Islam is great. Islam has reached that level of greatness where it's hard to think that somebody could deal with that,… pic.twitter.com/M2dgx3JDa1

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 2, 2026

Away from the octagon since his victory against the Australian, Makhachev has no official return date. However, Dana White recently stated that negotiations are pointing towards August.

Makhachev has already had his share of tough times in the UFC.

Volkanovski (left) and Makhachev (right) in UFC 284. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Despite not having experienced defeat since 2015, Islam's journey in the world's biggest MMA event has not been without its setbacks. In his first fight against... Alexander VolkanovskyThe Russian had to overcome adversity to emerge victorious by unanimous decision, including suffering a knockdown in the final round.

Later on, he also had to work hard to finish. Dustin poirier with a triangle choke in the fifth round. Diamante survived the initial attacks and even managed to cut the champion's forehead with a short elbow strike.