Slowly but surely, Chael Sonnen is moving his way back into the MMA world.
The 38-year old former top middleweight contender, who is on the back end of a two-year steroid-related suspension, will soon serve as a color commentator for World Series of Fighting. MMAFighting.com confirmed an initial Tuesday report by Yahoo Sports.
Sonnen will debut as analyst at WSOF 23 in Phoenix on Sept. 18 for an NBCSN broadcast headlined by a rematch between lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and Luis Palomino.
“I am stoked to join the powerhouse team at World Series of Fighting, and call their fights that feature some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet,” Sonnen told Yahoo Sports. “World Series of Fighting has done an outstanding job of building their organization into a top-tier franchise in a very short span of time, and I am just proud to be a part of such a fast-growing company.”
The outspoken Sonnen has made several prior ventures into the broadcasting world. He was a UFC studio host for FOX Sports before losing the job in the wake of his 2014 Nevada Athletic Commission suspension. He’s since done analyst work for ESPN and worked with legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross on an independent one-night MMA tournament event last year.
Sonnen also hosts a popular podcast titled “You’re Welcome.”
WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz praised Sonnen in comments to MMAFighting.com.
“We are very happy to have Chael on board,” Abdelaziz said. “He is a great athlete and one of the best analysts ever. Myself, ray, and Carlos silva are excited about having him as part of the WSOF broadcast.”