Chael Sonnen says Khabib's global fame could harm Russian this Saturday

C. Sonnen (photo) in an interview. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube Chael Sonnen

As the hours pass, the long-awaited meeting approaches. Khabib Nurmagomedov e Dustin poirier for the duel valid for the unification of the lightweight title (up to 70,3kg.). The confrontation, which takes place this Saturday, brings together two of the best athletes in the current phase of the UFC. The Russian will try to maintain his unbeaten record and achieve, in addition to yet another title defense, another victory in his undisputed career. Chael Sonnen, ex-Ultimate, however, believes that Khabib's fame and long commitment schedule could hinder the fighter. In an interview for his own podcast, Sonnen states that there may be a surprise in the UFC 242.

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“He’s been out for a while. For Khabib, it's because of the suspension. For other guys, due to injury or contract differences. But there will always be the question of how he will be in the fight. He is out. The other guys stayed active. Somehow, Khabib managed to enter the hearts and minds of the fans to the point where a defeat was not even considered,” said Sonnen.

The eternal rival of Anderson Silva took the opportunity to compare Nurmagomedov's fame and number of commitments to former mixed martial arts champions who ended up losing at some point in their lives. Among them, 'Spider' himself, Georges St-Pierre and even Mike Tyson.

“I could quote Mike Tyson, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva also comes to mind. No one is bulletproof”, commented the 'American Gangster'.

“I don't know if Khabib is bulletproof, because a lot of these similarities exist. He is suddenly a 'famous gentleman'. He is so famous that he has a political hub in that region (Dagestan). He is training at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) with Javier Mendez, but he lives in Dagestan, 21 hours away. I think it's a fair question, how much training is he getting in conjunction with travel schedules, with the media, with all the new 'friends' he has and even politicians? It surprises me that no one is talking about this!”, concluded Chael.

This Saturday, Poirier will have the opportunity to make history. Not only could the North American become the absolute champion of the division, as he now holds the interim belt, he could also end the Russian's hegemony in MMA, as Khabib has never been defeated in a professional fight.