Chael Sonnen has not fought since tapping out to Anderson Silva at UFC 117 in August of 2010. After that fight, Sonnen faced a suspension due to high levels of testosterone in his fight-related drug test. That suspension has run its course, and Sonnen is set to face Brian Stann in his return to the Octagon.
Sonnen and Stann will meet on the main card of UFC 136, which is set to take place on October 8 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Stann has fought twice since the Sonnen versus Siva bout, scoring impressive finishes over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago. Stann scored a TKO over Leben on January 1 and earned a knockout over Jorge Santiago in May. The second-round stoppage of Santiago also earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
In an interview with ESPN’s Jon Anik, Sonnen sounded unsure of himself heading into the fight, “I forgot what it’s like. I forgot what it’s like to be sore every day and tired every day and living life uncomfortable due to the training regiment.” Sonnen later added,” You push as hard as you can, but look, ring rust is a real thing. It’s going to be a step back. I won’t be at my best on that night, and I’m not gonna lie to myself and make believe that I will be.”
The idea of ring rust took a huge blow lately when Rashad Evans came back after a 14-month layoff to dominate Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC 133. That victory moved Evans into a top contender spot for the UFC light heavyweight title. UFC president Dana White recently told MMAFighting.com that the he felt that winner of the Sonnen versus Stann fight “should be” considered a No. 1 contender bout in the middleweight division.
It is somewhat odd for a fighter to openly claim that he will not be at his best when he steps into the cage against top competition. Sonnen’s statement opens the door to questions like: is he lining up excuses in case of a loss?
Sonnen is favored by oddsmakers over Stann.
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