Chael Sonnen calls for changes in "10.4 million dollar" USADA budget in light of Jiri Prochazka being tested 27 times this year

Chael Sonnen has called for a change in the USADA budget in light of Jiri Prochazka being tested 27 times this year.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion, who pulled out of his eagerly anticipated fight against Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 due to a severe shoulder injury, has been tested 27 times this year (based on data from USADA's athlete test history).

Based on data from USADA's athlete test history, Jiri Prochazka has submitted 24 samples for drug testing in the past month (and 27 total in Q3 of 2022).

This is a massive anomaly as the next most is 7 samples submitted.

USADA confirmed to me that the number is accurate.

Athletes who have submitted the most samples in 2022:

J. Prochazka 51
M. Kape 15
K. Usman 15
A.Carnelossi 14
M. Cirkunov 14
N. Magny 14
R. Namajunas 13
H. Cejudo 12
P. Costa 12
J. Masvidal 12

Harking back to his time as a wrestler, Sonnen claimed that USADA's presence in the system helped keep the sport clean. However, Sonnen holds the opinion that the UFC's budget for athlete drug testing is exorbitant considering that Jiri Prochazka was tested 27 times and passed clean every time.

Speaking on a recent episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Sonnen stated:

"Understanding some of the rules [during his stint as a wrestler], it helped to keep the sport pretty clean. Not bullet proof, but it's not full proof today. I'm not paying you $10.4 million...get your stuff together and come back to me."

Sonnen added:

"You go get Prochazka...you know what he's on, you've got a good idea of what he's taken, what is going to be in the system, if [it] says good [then] it better be good for $10.4 million...go get him once. You went to him 25 times and still came up with nothing. That's a problem for me. If I'm writing a cheque, that's a problem."

Catch Sonnen's comments (21:00) below:

Daniel Cormier believes Jiri Prochazka should not be concerned about returning back to action as a contender

Jiri Prochazka was forced to withdraw from his fight against Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 due to "the worst shoulder injury the doctors have seen in UFC history," as described by UFC president Dana White. Teixeira apparently refused to face any other challengers for the title so the decision-makers scheduled Jan Blachowicz and rising contender Magomed Ankalaev to fight for the vacant throne.

UFC president Dana White reveals Jiri Prochazka was forced to vacate the belt after "the worst shoulder injury" doctors have ever seen. 🤕

#UFC282 | Full story: bit.ly/3U3kuH5 https://t.co/Se8zVi3OFC

Undeniably, Prochazka will take some time to recover from the injury and return to action as a contender. Having said that, Daniel Cormier believes that 'The Czech Samurai' should not be worried about making another title run since he ascended to the throne in such a short period of time.

Speaking on a recent episode of ESPN MMA's DC & RC, Cormier said:

"He's [Jiri Prochazka] one of those guys that sees things a little bit differently, but he also has the confidence that it didn’t take him long to become the champion. So why would it worry him about chasing back that gold again knowing that he has already held the title...and by holding the title, it puts him right in line when he comes back."

Check out the full episode below: