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."

Following Jack Della Maddalena's title win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, he has been sent a defiant message by Islam Makhachev.