Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier suggest a way UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev can become one of the prmotion’s biggest draws.
Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) has already tied the UFC divisional record for most title defenses at three after submitting Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June. He also boasts one of the biggest social media followings on the UFC roster, with 8.7 million on Instagram.
Cormier argued that outside of a few exceptions, you can only be a big pay-per-draw if you go on a long title reign. While he thinks Makhachev has the ability to do that, both he and Sonnen would like to see him tap into a more trash-talking style.
“That guy is so charismatic, and he is so secretly funny,” Sonnen said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier. “If he was to do a heel turn, I mean, come on. He said one of the great heel lines ever. He said a whole bunch of professors should be taking their black belts back from guys.
“Like that angle and that is blasphemy in this sport, and nobody even knows got it. It was like this G-rated line. He didn’t use profanity. He didn’t yell. When he said it, he said it nicely. That is a heel move! What if he did a whole bit on that?”
Cormier agrees with Sonnen. He thinks Makhachev should embrace his dominance, which has seen him win 14 fights in a row – including finishes of Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira.
“I think that’s the move for Islam,” Cormier said. “He needs to get you and I to write him promos. We should write him promos. We write promos telling how much better he is than everyone. I would make him tell everybody that they don’t deserve to be in there with him, and he’s just going to lord over this division until he decides to retire.”
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chael Sonnen, Daniel Cormier encourage UFC champ Islam Makhachev to take ‘heel’ turn
