Former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen claimed fans are not interested in the upcoming fight between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.
Prochazka is set to clash with former light heavyweight champion Teixeira for a second time in the headlining bout of UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two delivered an instant classic in their first match in June at UFC 275. Teixeira, who appeared ahead on the judges’ scorecards, eventually lost his title in the final 30 seconds of an exciting fight. Prochazka became the first Czech to hold the UFC gold in history.
Following the win, ‘BJP’ was expected to line up with former champion Jan Blachowicz, whom he had promised the next title shot before dethroning Teixeira. However, Prochazka called for an immediate rematch with Teixeira to avenge one of his worst performances.
Although UFC announced the fight, they did not declare whether it would headline the card or serve as the co-main event until a few days later.
Former 205-pound king Jon Jones, widely considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, got rumored to make his comeback against former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at the final pay-per-view of the year. Prolific MMA reporter Ariel Helwani recently reported the super fight would likely not happen, hinting at negotiation troubles between Miocic and the promotion.
Sonnen Says Fans Are Not Interested in Prochazka v Teixeira 2
Jones has been on the sidelines for over two and a half years since his last outing against Dominick Reyes in Feb. 2020 at UFC 247. Fighter-turned-MMA analyst Sonnen argued Jones’ return overtook the main event in terms of media coverage and that the rematch between Prochazka and Teixeira has not generated enough interest from the fans.
“Jon Jones is not fighting Stipe (at UFC 282)… There are no other headlines this week out about that card. There is a world title fight that night… it is the most resisted world championship fight, the most resisted rematch, in UFC history,” Sonnen said in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel (transcribed by MMA News). “The promotion did not want to make it, and you guys didn’t ask them to.
“There is a world title fight that has not been discussed at all, but Jones not being there was.”
Sonnen Claims UFC Tried Not To Make the Fight
Before the promotion confirmed Teixeira would get an immediate rematch, top-ranked light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith made his case to be the rightful next opponent in line for the gold. Smith was targeting to defeat Magomed Ankalaev in July at UFC 277 but succumbed to a TKO finish after getting injured in the second round.
‘The Bad Guy’ theorized UFC did not want to make Prochazka compete with Teixeira and reiterated his stance that fans are not interested.
“Here I am talking about a world championship fight that none of you are interested in. The promotion did everything they could — get Anthony Smith that W, get (Magomed) Ankalaev over with the audience… they did everything they could to not make the damn match,” Sonnen continued. “It’s an awesome fight, two killer competitors… but I played that game before and none of you wanted to hear.”
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Fans Are Not Interested in Nearing Title Fight of Two Warriors, UFC Icon Says