The lightweight division has been thriving since Ilia Topuria dethroned Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. With Islam Makhachev advancing and vacating the title, the Spaniard’s rise has sparked fresh discussions about who deserves the next shot and whether the Dagestani champion should return to reclaim what was once his. While fans fantasize about Makhachev vs. Topuria at 155, Chael Sonnen is pouring cold water on the fantasy.

On his YouTube channel, ‘The American Gangster’ laid out a blunt truth: once fighters taste life without brutal weight cuts, they rarely return to the division that drained them. Sonnen didn’t just discuss hypotheticals; he used examples from Aljamain Sterling and Conor McGregor to illustrate how the psychology of weight division often influences career moves more than belts do.

Chael Sonnen calls out Islam Makhachev’s potentially “cowardly” move

Chael Sonnen feels Makhachev’s departure from 155 is permanent and not temporary. On his YouTube channel, he emphasized that once a fighter experiences life without rigorous weight cuts, the desire to return just fades. “The part that I don’t believe Islam is aware of is that when he experiences life at 170 lbs, he’s never going to go back to 155.”

He went on to point out a pattern across divisions: Aljamain Sterling never returned to bantamweight after jumping up to 145 pounds, and Conor McGregor never returned to featherweight after bulking up. So, ‘The American Gangster’ believes that the psychology of fighters promotes forward movement.

He said, “We just saw AlJo Sterling and how well he did, but he also moved up a weight class, and he was genuinely just a happier, nicer, healthier-looking person. Conor McGregor – if you want to go back a little bit – not only went up one weight class, but he also went to made-up weight classes and even a third weight class.” According to him, fighters don’t want to be smaller; they want to be leaner, they want to be ripped, and they want to be stronger.

Now, if this theory is actually true, then the prospect of Islam Makhachev cutting back to 155 for ‘El Matador’ is quite unrealistic. Chael Sonnen further went on to say that weight cutting is a mindset issue as much as a physical one. “Cutting weight is a very cowardly thing to do,” he said, suggesting that putting a powerful champion like Makhachev back into a lower division would go against the natural growth of a fighter’s career.

So, it looks like for ‘The American Gangster,’ the reality is simple: Islam Makhachev’s future is at 170, and the lightweight belt now belongs entirely to Ilia Topuria and his peers. Maybe even the Dagestani phenom is aware of all this. That is why, while he has said he would be willing to fight ‘El Matador,’ he is equally interested in seeing Arman Tsarukyan go for the lightweight title.

Makhachev points to Arman Tsarukyan as the rightful contender

In the past few months, Islam Makhachev has expressed minimal interest in Topuria. When asked about a future matchup between the two, he instead referred to Arman Tsarukyan, who acted as the backup for the last title fight. “Arman made weight for the last title fight; he was the backup. He should be next in the fight for the belt. This is the most relevant fight at the moment.”

That remark reveals a lot about Islam’s thinking. Instead of pursuing a superfight with the surging Spaniard, he emphasized Tsarukyan’s consistency and deserved place in the title picture. It also shows that Makhachev believes the lightweight hierarchy is still intact, with candidates like ‘Akhalkalakets’ and Justin Gaethje in line.

With Gaethje considering retirement, Paddy Pimblett injecting drama with his rivalry with Topuria, and Tsarukyan still looking for a breakout moment, the division is full of storylines. However, Makhachev’s stance makes one thing clear: if ‘El Matador’ wants to strengthen his claim as champion, he will not be able to do so by dragging Islam back down. That spotlight, for now, belongs to the Armenian.