“There’s a space for a third belt,” said Ilia Topuria as he flaunted his featherweight and lightweight titles after his UFC 317 triumph. Winning three belts in three separate divisions isn’t new to combat sports, as it’s been done in boxing many times. Even in MMA, ONE Championship crowned the first-ever triple champion in the sport in Anatoly Malykhin in 2024. However, in the UFC, it’s a feat that is unheard of.

Despite the chances of becoming a triple champion in the is slim, many fighters have expressed their wish recently to become the first to do that. Just like Ilia Topuria, former 2-weight champion Alex Pereira, who hasn’t fought since losing the title at UFC 313, has also teased going for a third title. And guess what? There’s another fighter, a former champion, who’s actually looking to become a double champion, whose teammate, Belal Muhammad, claims he can win a third title at middleweight, Islam Makhachev.

To do something that’s never been done, a fighter needs to be exceptional. Unfortunately, UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen doesn’t believe Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev are on that level. This may sound strange given that both fighters have been dominant in the last few years, unlike Alex Pereira, who has faced defeat recently. But guess what? ‘The American Gangster’ is leaning more towards ‘Poatan’, claiming he’s the only one who can do that as far as the current roster of UFC fighters is concerned.

“I’ve always liked the concept of champ-champ-champ. I don’t know, realistically, in my lifetime, unless Alex [Pereira] gets it done, that I’m ever gonna see it,” Chael Sonnen told Daniel Cormier on YouTube. Claiming that the UFC should push Alex Pereira to fight for a third title, he added, “I don’t believe realistically, at least, in this era, of anyone that’s under contract right now, there’s no one that I believe that can go champ-champ-champ. Just him. Only him, and I’d like to see him get the opportunity to try.”

Well, Ilia Topuria doesn’t seem to be the pick for Chael Sonnen when it comes to winning a third divisional title. However, ‘The American Gangster’ backed the Georgian-Spaniard when it came to another belt, which he believes ‘El Matador’ is technically the rightful owner. Here’s what he had to say.

BMF champion Max Holloway was livid when Ilia Topuria walked out with the featherweight and the BMF title after handing him his first KO loss in the UFC. The belt wasn’t on the line at UFC 308. But for Chael Sonnen, ‘El Matador’ did nothing wrong. In fact, it was the UFC’s mistake to pit the Georgian-Spanish star against the gimmick title holder, so the Hall of Fame claims Dana White and Co. made another mistake at UFC 317, when they didn’t let Topuria hold the 145lbs, 155lbs, and the BMF title.

“There was a mistake made, and the mistake was made to put Ilia in there with the reigning BMF champion and not to put up the belt. That son of a b—h should have three belts right now, and we’re having a totally different talk right now if he does,” Chael Sonnen stated on his YouTube channel. “The marketing and the posters are totally different if we had that, but we gotta follow it to a tee. The belt’s either up or it’s not.”

Well, Ilia Topuria is on a roll right now, and even though Chael Sonnen believes Alex Pereira is the one to do it, the lightweight champion could surprise people. He proved his mettle against Charles Oliveira, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out for him as well as for ‘Poatan’. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.