Chael Sonnen explains why Glover Teixeira admitting he "felt disrespected" by the UFC over Jiri Prochazka title fight is a big deal
Jiri Prochazka withdrew from his scheduled UFC 282 rematch with Glover Teixeira after severely injuring his shoulder. After 'Denisa' vacated the belt, the UFC booked a new light-heavyweight title fight between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalev, sidelining Teixeira.
The former champ voiced his grouse with the UFC in subsequent interviews, claiming to have felt disrespected. But that's about as much as Teixeira said.
According to Sonnen, Teixeira voicing his sentiments is a big deal considering the kind of person he is. 'The American Gangster' noted that Teixeira voicing his feelings of disrespect is as crude as the Brazilian can get. The 45-year-old said on his YouTube channel:
"The headline says, 'I felt disrespected by the UFC'. Okay, so what?... But in Glover language, that is as salacious as he has ever been. To say that his feelings were hurt, I mean Glover doesn't do those kinds of things. So this is a big deal. This is a big deal because of who it's coming from.".
Watch Sonnen's comments on Glover Teixeira below:
Glover Teixeira believes him fighting Jan Blachowicz would sell more than the current UFC 282 headliner
Glover Teixeira claims to have agreed to fight both Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev when he got the news of Jiri Prochazka's withdrawal. While Teixeira was ready to fight Blachowicz at UFC 282 in December, he wanted to fight Ankalaev in January with some more preparation.
However, the UFC seemingly wasn't interested in booking Teixeira vs. Blachowicz as the Brazilian had already defeated the Pole in their first clash. Teixeira felt "disrespected" after being sidelined despite everything he has done for the UFC.
The 43-year-old also believes that his rematch with Blachowicz would have sold more than the current UFC 282 headliner, as Ankalaev doesn't have a big fan base in America. Teixeira said on the Super Lutas' YouTube channel:
“I felt a little disrespected. Given everything I’ve done for this company. I’m a bit sad about this whole situation. Why wouldn’t they let me fight Jan? It’s two old timers fighting again, but it would sell more than this Ankalaev fight. We’re two heavy-hitters. It would sell more for sure, no disrespect to Ankalaev. He’s just not that well-known here in America. Maybe he is in Russia, I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t understand these things that they do.” h/t bloodyelbow.com
Watch the full interview below: