Initially, it was reported that Chael Sonnen’s indefinite suspension at the hands of the California State Athletic Commission would continue—effectively retiring Sonnen from the sport of mixed martial arts forever since it is a common practice for other athletic commissions to honor each other’s suspensions.
However, news has recently broken that the commission made a mistake in interpreting their suspension law. Sonnen does not have to wait for a year to seek a renewal of his license and instead can seek renewal on June 29th, 2011.
This is huge news not only for Sonnen, but for UFC President Dana White, for all of the middleweight fighters on the roster, and for all fans who follow MMA.
Love him or hate him, Chael Sonnen is one of the most controversial figures in the sport and is thus a massive draw. With that being said, there are three specific things that can happen if Dana White uses Sonnen and his finely tuned trash talk properly that could be of immense benefit to the UFC and therefore to the sport itself.