Magomed Ankalaev has been asking for a bout against Jiri Prochazka for quite some time now. A fight between the duo would be the perfect choice for the Russian’s first title defense. However, the former light heavyweight champion wasn’t ready to take on anyone just yet. The reason? That’s what we’ll find out in today’s episode of EssentiallySports’ MMA News Roundup. 

For our second story, we’ll look at the calls mounting against Jon Jones. Yes, even fighters other than Tom Aspinall have weighed in on the heavyweight champion’s inactivity. And finally, we’ll see how Chael Sonnen lost $12.5K at TUF 33. So without any further ado, let’s get right into it! 

Jiri Prochazka has set his priorities straight

During a recent interview with Full Violence, Jiri Prochazka revealed why he turned down a title shot offered for the International Fight Week. Yes, the Czech star was offered a fight against Magomed Ankalaev. But it seemed like he had some commitments to his studies. Needless to say, the light heavyweight champion wasn’t happy with the outcome and lashed out at Prochazka on social media. But what did ‘Denisa’ have to say about it? 

Prochazka opened up, “Look, I’m studying like this university like for right now, three years, this magister. Everything is settled. Everything is good. I’m after the fight. It’s a little bit time. So right now I’m focused for this target. What is right now most important, the priority.  And right now is that school. So whatever can happen, fights, or whatever, this is on my first place to win the title fight, to win the fights. But right now, it’s open. I’m already preparing for that. He’s a big mouth guy… This is not how the champ have to speak. He will put himself down by himself just by this nonsense talking.” 

Now, it’s time for us to take a look at the heavyweight division. Jon Jones’ inactivity has halted momentum at the heavyweight division. And that garnered some frustrated comments from his fellow heavyweights as well as the featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski. 

UFC contenders keep riling up to strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title

‘The Great’ weighed in on Jones holding up the heavyweight category on the Overdogs Podcast and provided an ultimatum for him. And the suggestion involved retirement. He said, “If you don’t want to fight, just retire. You’re done.” Of course, Tom Aspinall is the one who’s the most frustrated with Jones’ inactivity. He even had to defend his interim belt just because of that. Talking to Michael Bisping, he claimed, “Jon Jones should be stripped. I should be the real champion right now.”

And now, Curtis Blaydes has come forth with his opinion on ‘Bones’s heavyweight championship status. He was simply furious at the heavyweight champion repeatedly avoiding a fight to unite the belts. He claimed, “Strip him. And if that p—– him off, maybe that’ll get him to fight.” 

While the title picture continues to attract attention to the UFC heavyweight division, The Ultimate Fighter continues to entertain the fighting community with a completely different set of drama. This time, a fighter missed weight, and Chael Sonnen had to pay for it. Literally!

Chael Sonnen loses $12.5K for TUF weigh-in debacle

On episode 4 of TUF 33, Andreeas Binder from Sonnen’s team was set to fight Jeff Creighton from team Daniel Cormier. However, the Irishman was 6 pounds heavier than the welterweight limit. But ‘The Bad Guy’ had to save the bout. He called up Cormier, who was in the sauna, and said, “DC, it’s Chael. We’re gonna miss weight today… He’s at 176lbs, he can hold it but he’s not gonna be able to lose any more. $1000 per lb and it will be brought to the weigh-ins in a white envelope, he will have it today.” 

Addressing Creighton, he continued, “Jeff, here’s my pitch, we’re not going to make weight, he’s 176lbs and he’s done, he’s not gonna be an ounce lighter. You can pass on the match… We’re offering you $1000 per lb missed, you give us 5lbs we’ll give you $5000.” But Creighton wanted $2500 per pound of missed weight. And ultimately, Sonnen had to pay up $12.5K just to make the fight happen. 

He continued, “This is a potential disaster. Dana White doesn’t forgive fighters that miss weight on The Ultimate Fighter. I cannot think of a single person since 2005 that has missed weight on TUF and was given [another] opportunity. We made a mistake and now we need grace.” But even after being the heavier fighter, Binder lost the bout with a bloodied cut on his face. 

What are your thoughts on Prochazka’s decision? Do you think it’s right for the fighters to put education at a higher priority level than their fights? What do you think is next for Jon Jones? And how did you rate TUF 33 episode 4? Let us know in the comments.