Chael Sonnen has publicly criticized the decision to exclude Magomed Ankalaev from the vacant light heavyweight title fight. Sonnen pointed out that Ankalaev holds a 1-1 record with Alex Pereira and is the only fighter in that group to have defeated Pereira. Despite this, Ankalaev was not even considered for the title bout. Sonnen expressed confusion over why the title fight excludes the most exciting fighter (Rountree), the most intriguing (Jamal), or the most accomplished (Ankalaev). He argued that the storyline for the current title fight is so weak that people aren't even discussing the absence of the right participants, concluding that both fighters selected are wrong choices.
