Chael Sonnen criticizes Magomed Ankalaev's absence from vacant title fight

Chael Sonnen has publicly criticized the UFC for not including Magomed Ankalaev in the vacant light heavyweight title fight. Sonnen emphasized that Ankalaev holds a 1-1 record against Alex Pereira and is the only fighter in this group who has defeated Pereira. Despite this, Ankalaev was not even considered for the title bout. Sonnen argues the current title fight lacks a compelling storyline because it features neither the most exciting fighter (Roundtree), the most intriguing (Jamal), nor the most accomplished (Ankalaev). He concluded that both participants in the scheduled title fight are the wrong choices.