Sonnen, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing for his war with Anderson Silva at UFC 117, was among the vocal parties who believed Makhachev had more to do in the lightweight division. In fact, he categorized the shift as a "sign of cowardice."

Islam Makhachev fires back at Chael Sonnen for calling his potential welterweight move cowardly, defending his ambitions and legacy.

Another to quickly push back on Sonnen’s take was evidently Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz. During a recent video on his YouTube channel, ‘The Bad Guy’ sought to clarify his view and recalled the phone call he received from the “annoyed” Dominance MMA CEO.

Chael Sonnen fires back at Islam Makhachev, vowing to "beat it out" of him as their war of words escalates into a heated rivalry.

Joaquin Buckley warns Islam Makhachev of his move to the UFC's welterweight division. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that, upon vacating his lightweight title, Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) will get an immediate shot at newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at a date to be determined.

Islam Makhachev has responded to one popular UFC analyst's claims that he ducked a lightweight title defense against Ilia Topuria.

Former champ backs Islam Makhachev’s move to 170, praising his ambition: “He’s chasing greatness, not just defending titles.”

Chael Sonnen believes Islam Makhachev wanted no part of Ilia Topuria and can't beliebe he even vacated his lightweight title to avoid the fight.