Glancing at the language regarding Chael Sonnen’s ‘termination’ with UFC and FOX Sports, you had to know the door hadn’t been completely slammed on the charismatic fighter turned commentator. Unlike his hard-line stance on castoffs Paul Daley and Jason High, UFC president Dana White doesn’t sound like he’s completely out of the Chael Sonnen business.
“It breaks my heart,” said White of the decision to cut ties with Sonnen. “I care about Chael very much. Me and Chael have had a very good relationship behind the scenes. He’s a great guy. He had four banned substances in his body. What are you going to do?
“It is [discouraging]. The relationship that I have with him, when he took the test I would expect him to come to me and say, ‘Hey listen, I’ve got some bad news for you.’ It sucks.”
Despite failing two random drug screenings administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission ahead of a Jul. 5 bout with Vitor Belfort, White believes Sonnen’s possible redemption very much depends on how well explains the misstep to the public.
“I care about the guy very much and hopefully … You know, it all depends on how he handles it,” said White. “America is a very forgiving place for guys who do the right thing. You see what happens with the guys who dig their heels in and try to battle it. It doesn’t work that well for them.”
Temporarily suspended by the NAC on Jun. 17, Sonnen and his case are expected to be evaluated at the next commission meeting scheduled for Jul. 23rd in Las Vegas, NV.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Aldo out. UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo suffered a shoulder and spine injury, forcing him to withdraw from his title fight with Chad Mendes at UFC 176.
Rematch. All signs point to T.J. Dillashaw facing Renan Barao at UFC 177 in Sacremento in an instant rematch for the bantamweight title.
Chat Wrap. Luke Thomas previews UFC 175 and delves into the Chael Sonnen situation and more in this week’s live chat.
Ronda scrum. Ronda Rousey explains why she has ‘way more to lose’ than Alexis Davis and blasts some TMZ reporter for asking about her sex life.
Fireball Kid. With no Nate Diaz to be had, Myles Jury will face Takanori Gomi on Sept. 20 in Saitama, Japan.
MEDIA STEW
UFC 175 Embedded episode 2.
Random A** interviews with Lyoto Machida and Ronda.
The pros pick Weidman vs. Machida.
Wanderlei Silva rescues a pup.
Machida doesn’t sound too worried about Weidman.
Weidman wants the standing guillotine counter.
Long watches.
UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida Care/Don’t Care Preview
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Love a driving force for Davis to MMA
TWEETS
Too bad.
Welp it happens yet again with this guy. Weird how often this guy gets “hurt” sorry for the bad news guys I was really looking forward to
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) July 3, 2014
Taking that belt aug 2. Now I guess we wait to see what the @ufc has planned for me.
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) July 3, 2014
Still blown away. I hope Aldo heals up fast this fight needs to happen. I want that belt!
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) July 3, 2014
Sound good?
“@NikLentz: RT @DanielRChargers @NikLentz vs @KoreanZombieMMA Make it happen @danawhite @lorenzofertitta @seanshelby” 🙂
— Chan Sung Jung (@KoreanZombieMMA) July 2, 2014
A bit more training footage.
Watch “Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis UFC 175 – Rousey Training footage via @LayzieTheSavage & @DGoland” http://t.co/TMqS1hPuCD
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) July 2, 2014
Going through some throws with mrdo55 http://t.co/zmIIK9yabC
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) July 2, 2014
Oh, TMZ.
@ScottSawitz yes, TMZ
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) July 3, 2014
Metamoris’ statement on Chael.
Official statement: Metamoris Founder Ralek Gracie on Chael Sonnen participating @MetamorisPro 4. pic.twitter.com/XIptlqv31J
— Metamoris (@MetamorisPro) July 2, 2014
The battle wages on.
@BrianButler_Au You guys do a good job but how many firms do you know personally that don’t? Why should athletes suffer and foot the bill???
— Mike DOLCE (@TheDolceDiet) July 2, 2014
Busy day for Forrest.
Going to see an increase in missed calls.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Jul. 2 2014)
Thiago Alves out, Jordan Mein vs. Brandon Thatch at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos
Demian Maia vs. Mike Pyle at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos
Francis Carmont vs. Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Juliana Lima at UFC on FOX 12
cancelled Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes at UFC 176
Takanori Gomi vs. Myles Jury at UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via heavyfl0w.
UFC 175 Preview: I’m Not Dead Yet! (& Why I Like Machida)
The UFC’s pay-per-view model is dying a slow and painful death, as evidenced by the reportedly ghastly numbers that last months UFC 174 did. Since the UFC partnered up with FOX, two things have been proven. One is that, because of the ubiquitous number of cards, coupled with the idea that the UFC is the only legitimate game in town, people really will tune into just about anything with the letters “UFC” on it. The other, though, is that this is true as long as it isn’t a pay per view. Shelling out 55 bucks and planning a night around Demetrious Johnson and Ali Bagautinov is a little bit different than catching them while you’re dully surfing through channels.
The UFC is going to put forth their best effort to alleviate that PPV stink with their annual 4th of July weekend show. The 2014 edition features two title fights … and not a whole lot else (Sure, this is due to the fact that this lineup featured approximately 246 failed drug tests over the past few months … but still). At least, not on the main card. You could make an argument that the prelims are actually more compelling than the main card as a whole. And since I’m the snob making that argument, I’m going to mow through the prelims as well. You only live once.
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Check out the rest of the post here.
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