Chael Sonnen has called into question whether or not Charles Oliveira will ever share the Octagon with Islam Makhachev again, even if he defeats Arman Tsarukyan.
Sonnen has long insisted that “do Bronx” does not want a rematch against Makhachev. UFC CEO Dana White had expressed interest in rebooking their second encounter after Oliveira suffered a cut that prevented him from fighting on the UFC 294 card. Sonnen described Charles’ injury as a “paper cut.”
Oliveira first fought Makhachev back in October 2022 at UFC 280. Makhachev submitted “do Bronx” in the second round to capture the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Chael Sonnen On Charles Oliveira Not Fighting Islam Makhachev Again
During a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen said that it can’t be denied that Charles Oliveira wanted to avoid a rematch with Islam Makhachev.
“There’s one that he does not want,” Sonnen said. “I got my opinion from him, he told me this three times and then I just told you guys that he doesn’t wanna fight Islam. He doesn’t wanna fight Islam to the degree that he has refused to fight Islam. He started with that in private, and his coach came out and told the world. He was offered Islam and then he said, ‘No, that was the very first Volkanovski fight.’ I know you think I’m forgetting and I’m telling you the story of the second fight. It’s the story of the second fight as well, but the first fight was offered to Charles, who said no.”
Sonnen was taken aback when he initially heard that the winner of Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan, scheduled for UFC 300, would be given a 155-pound title shot because he still doesn’t think Charles would fight Makhachev a second time.
“The surprise was that the winner takes on Islam,” Sonnen said. “I only bring that to you because when he went in to fight Benny [Beneil Dariush] they said the same thing, and Charles had one of his great performances, and I just find those are kind of oxymorons.”
Here’s the full video of Chael Sonnen’s opinion on the matter:
