In an article last week, this writer broke the news that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen had his fighter’s license suspended by the state of California. May 18 was the day of the hearing, and things did not go favorably for “Uncle C…
In an article last week, this writer broke the news that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen had his fighter’s license suspended by the state of California.
May 18 was the day of the hearing, and things did not go favorably for “Uncle Chael.”
ESPN’s Josh Gross kept fans up to date via his Twitter feed, and there were quite a few interesting developments.
At the hearing, Sonnen confirmed rumors that the UFC asked him to coach opposite Michael Bisping on season 14 of the show. Sonnen said UFC would give him a job 18 days from now. “A once in a lifetime opportunity to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter,” he confirmed.
Additionally, he clarified that if things panned out, the season finale would see Sonnen take on Bisping in a No. 1 contender fight for the middleweight title.
Bisping chimed in on the matter via his Twitter page, and despite Sonnen calling him out not too long ago, “The Count” actually showed sympathy for Sonnen:
“Gutted for chael sonnen, people make mistakes. He paid his dues and should be allowed to continue with his career. Real shame for the guy.”
The British middleweight added “I did wanna fight him,as it would of been awesome, and a no1 contender matchup, but my own personal wants aside, I do truly feel for the guy.”
The first shocking moment from the hearing came when Sonnen stated, “If I don’t get my license today I’m effectively retired. That came from the boss, Dana White.”
A visibly emotional Sonnen continued, “I worked for this chance my whole life. I don’t want to retire today.”
After hearing statements from the crowd—which included Sonnen’s mother—the commission passed a 4-1 motion made by State Athletic Commissioner Gene Hernandez to uphold Sonnen’s indefinite suspension.
Sonnen’s attorney, Steve Thompson, blamed the misunderstandings between the commission and Sonnen primarily on former manager Matt Linland. Thompson also played up how passionate the UFC was in giving Sonnen another chance, with a coaching position on TUF and a No. 1 contender fight on the line.
Sonnen stressed the fact that he needs testosterone therapy for his “survival,” and that he has the testosterone levels of a “93-year-old man.”
All arguments seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Sonnen cannot apply for another license in the state of California until June 29th of 2012, and is all but guaranteed to not get his suspension uplifted in the state of Nevada now.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer was one of the men who testified. He again reiterated his position that he never talked to Sonnen regarding the therapeutic exemption of testosterone replacement therapy.
Neither the UFC nor Chael Sonnen has released an official statement on the matter yet, but this article will provide updates as they occur.
UPDATE: 5:24pm ET Michael Bisping’s Twitter comments about the matter have been added.
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsWednesday’s news that Chael Sonnen’s suspension was upheld by the California State Athletic Commission will most likely ruin any chance of seeing Sonnen fight Michael Bisping in the near future.
That’s a fight many MMA fans were looking forward to, including both Sonnen and Bisping.
Sonnen was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, but Bisping shared his thoughts with MMA Fighting on Sonnen’s suspension and what’s next for him.
Ariel Helwani: What’s your reaction to Wednesday’s news about Chael Sonnen?
Michael Bisping: I’m disappointed. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for a while now and I think pretty much everybody can work out that I was hoping to fight Chael Sonnen, and we were waiting to hear if he was going to clear up his personal problems. Obviously today we found out that he’s been indefinitely suspended.
It’s a shame for the guy. I really do feel for him. We’re all human beings; we all make mistakes. He’s being punished, and OK, he’s made some very, very bad decisions lately, but no one’s perfect — I’m certainly not perfect — and I feel for the guy. By the sounds of it, he’s stuffed in his career as a realtor and he’s also screwed as an MMA fighter at the moment. He’s an exciting fighter, and I think it’s a shame for him; it’s a shame for mixed martial arts.
What do you think you’ll do next then?
Well, I’ll probably go to bed in the next few minutes (laughs). Then after that, I’m sitting by the phone, waiting for a call from the UFC. I’m very, very eager to know when I’m going to fight again or whether I’m going to coach The Ultimate Fighter. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I’m very, very eager. I still have been training for a while. I love to fight and I can’t wait to fight again.
Did the UFC tell you about any other plans they had for you in case Sonnen’s suspension was upheld?
No, they didn’t. I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually spoken to the UFC. My manager actually spoke to the UFC about all of this, and I’ve just been waiting on the sidelines waiting for this to clear up. I knew there was a little red tape to go through and today we have the combination of all that. It’s a shame for Chael Sonnen, it’s a shame for the fans, and all in all, a bad turn of events. And for me as well, it was a big opportunity. You know, Chael Sonnen, a fight with him would have been a big deal for me and a No. 1 contender fight, so obviously, I’m disappointed as well, but yeah, I’m not sure what is going to happen now.
Are you still interested in coaching TUF without Sonnen?
Yeah, absolutely. The Ultimate Fighter did fantastic things for me as a fighter and my career. If it weren’t for The Ultimate Fighter, it’s possible we might not be having this conversation now. So, I’m very grateful for my time on The Ultimate Fighter as a contestant and as a coach. So if the UFC were graceful enough to give me another shot on the show, then who am I to turn it down? The UFC have been the best employees a man can ever wish for. If that’s what they want me to do, then I’m their man.
It feels like every other day someone is calling you out. So now that it looks like you won’t be fighting Sonnen, who do you want to fight next?
I did fancy a fight with Nate Marquardt, but to be honest, the fight that I really wanted more than anything, and I said straight after the Jorge Rivera fight, and that was before any of the rumors of The Ultimate Fighter started, I wanted to fight Chael Sonnen. I think I’ve paid my dues, I’ve proved who I am as a fighter and my skills, and I wanted to fight for the title. Chael Sonnen was ranked No. 2 and that’s the guy who I wanted to fight. Not only because of that, I mean, the guy certainly does bring a lot of hype to a fight rightly or wrongly, and I thought the guy used to be hilarious in his pre-fight trash-talk. So I wanted to fight him. Other than that, I haven’t really given too much thought about it. As I said, Nate Marquardt, but he dropped down to 170.
Yeah, you’re right, there’s a bunch of guys who have been calling me out. They’re all just jumping on the bandwagon and trying to get a name for themselves. It seems popular to talk sh** about me. They can all go f**k themselves as far as I’m concerned. If they’ve got a problem with me, come and say it to my face, as opposed to over the Internet like a f**king spineless a**hole. But we’re talking from middleweight to lightweight to heavyweight, I’ll fight anyone of those guys. I try to keep it professional. You never see me calling guys out on the Internet. You’ve never seen me once call a guy out on the Internet or on my Web site or via Twitter. But people say I’m the a**hole.
Who do I want to fight? I don’t know, anyone that is going to get me closer to a title shot.
I noticed Tim Kennedy called you out via Twitter on Tuesday. Where did that come from?
It’s completely weird. He actually sent me a Tweet. It was directed to me, @bisping, ‘Bisping you’re an a**hole,’ or something, ‘You disrespected the sport and Jorge Rivera for the illegal knee.’ Normally, I never, ever respond to negative Tweets because, you know, all you’re doing is confirming to this person that you’ve actually read it and it may have gotten to you, so I never usually respond. But on this occasion, I thought, Here you’ve got another fellow professional of the sport that should know better, and he’s directing it at me. I’ve never met the guy, he doesn’t even fight in the UFC, and I just said, You know what, Tim Kennedy? Go f**k yourself. You’ve missed the train. That bandwagon left two months ago. I don’t know what his problem is. Again, he’s another one in a long list of people who’s trying to make a name off my back.
If you were to guess, when do you think we will see you fight again?
If I was to guess, for me, I’m training hard right now. Obviously, it’s been a few months since the fight, so I’ve gained a few extra pounds but nothing too crazy. I’m not as fat as I have been at some stages, but I want to fight as soon as possible. I’m a fighter, this is what I do. I’ve literally been crawling the walls since my last fight. I’ve been doing my best to maintain my fitness and improve my skills and stay in shape, but without a fight lined up, it’s been pretty hard. It’s hard to maintain motivation.
This is what I do. I truly love the sport and I’m a student of the game. Without a fight lined up it has been hard. So for me, ASAP. If the UFC were to call me up and say, We’ve got a fight for you in the next few weeks, I would be very happy. But I couldn’t put a time as of right now.
Filed under: UFCIf Chael Sonnen is to be believed, the California State Athletic Commission’s decision to uphold his indefinite suspension means he is now “effectively retired” from the sport of mixed martial arts. But as we’ve learned in the past, tha…
If Chael Sonnen is to be believed, the California State Athletic Commission’s decision to uphold his indefinite suspension means he is now “effectively retired” from the sport of mixed martial arts. But as we’ve learned in the past, that’s a pretty big if.
Sonnen’s credibility problem was at the heart of the CSAC’s concerns at Wednesday’s hearing. After telling California one thing and Nevada another – and let’s not even get started on his media interviews, which at times have been so outlandish they bordered on performance art – the CSAC decided that they just couldn’t trust Sonnen enough to license him. Not now, anyway.
That’s somewhat understandable. Sonnen stands accused of misusing testosterone and misrepresenting who he told about it, and his arguments surrounding the latter are far less plausible than his story on the former. But before we salt Sonnen away and call it a career, we should remind ourselves that this case has too many moving parts and unpredictable variables to be closed so easily.
For starters, there’s the meat of the issue: testosterone replacement therapy.
According to ESPN.com’s Josh Gross, Sonnen told the CSAC that he needed the twice-weekly injections or else he’d have the testosterone levels “of a 93-year-old man.” That seems a tad extreme, and I’m willing to bet that there aren’t too many nonagenarians out there who could look like Sonnen even if they bathed in testosterone every morning, but it’s almost beside the point.
The CSAC seems far less concerned with establishing guidelines for who is and isn’t qualified to receive a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone – a tricky subject for any licensing body – and way more concerned with beating Sonnen over the head for lying to them about it in the first place.
Again, that’s understandable, and something he should have obviously considered when he regaled the commission with tall tales about conversations that never took place.
But okay, so he lied about his testosterone use to try and save his hide. He’s not the first PED user to opt for ‘total freaking denial’ in this particular Choose Your Own Adventure story. And unlike the ones who stand accused of steroid use, Sonnen actually has a defense with at least some degree of reasonable doubt built in. It’s plausible that an MMA fighter might be able to get a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone. It just so happens that Sonnen wasn’t that fighter, regardless of who he says told him otherwise.
Maybe that’s why the CSAC decided to focus more on the lying than the testosterone. That, plus Sonnen’s ill-timed guilty plea on felony mortgage fraud charges (not that there’s a good time for that), made him look like a man who can’t be trusted. And maybe he is. It does seem like whenever he’s confronted with some wrongdoing he knows exactly who’s to blame – Matt Lindland, some Hispanic guy, etc. – but that someone is never him.
And really, this is a much bigger problem for Sonnen than testosterone is. Which brings us back to his claim that a failure to get his license reinstated would mean retirement. Sonnen attributed that one to UFC president Dana White, suggesting that he believes the UFC would have no further use for him if he can’t get cleared to fight (or coach on ‘The Ultimate Fighter‘) right away.
That, too, seems implausible. Obviously the UFC would like Sonnen to put this mess behind him and get back to work, but he can reapply after his license expires on June 29. He could also fight elsewhere if the UFC truly is fed up with him after today. Trying to appeal to the CSAC’s collective compassion by claiming that it’s either a license or the retirement home for poor old Chael is the kind of thing that could blow up in his face if the UFC does not, in fact, decide to cut him rather than wait a couple more months.
Picture that scenario for a moment. Picture him getting chewed out by White, but keeping his job. Picture him going back to the CSAC next time, hat in hand, saying, ‘That whole effectively retired bit? Yeah, that’s not true either. Sorry.’
How do you think the commission will feel about his trustworthiness then? Sadly, that seems like just another tomorrow that Sonnen is incapable of planning for today.
Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC middleweight Chael Sonnen on Wednesday lost his appeal against an indefinite suspension, leaving the 34-year-old contender’s mixed martial arts future up in the air.
In a hearing in Los Angeles, the California athletic commi…
UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen on Wednesday lost his appeal against an indefinite suspension, leaving the 34-year-old contender’s mixed martial arts future up in the air.
In a hearing in Los Angeles, the California athletic commission ruled 4-1 to uphold Sonnen’s indefinite suspension, MMAJunkie.com reports. While suspended, Sonnen is ineligible for a fighting license in California. The Nevada athletic commission adheres to the rulings in California.
Factored into the ruling were Sonnen’s money laundering conviction in January and a false testimony last December.
Last December, Sonnen told the commission that he had cleared the use of testosterone replacement therapy with Nevada athletic commission executive director Keith Kizer. However, Kizer said the conversation never took place. Last month on The MMA Hour, Sonnen admitted he used the “wrong words” in the testimony, stating it was information relayed to him by his manager, whom Sonnen has since relieved of his duties.
Sonnen last competed at UFC 117 in August in Oakland against champion Anderson Silva. Seemingly on his way to victory on points, he was submitted by a triangle choke three minutes and 10 seconds into the fifth and final round. Following the fight, he failed his drug test and was suspended for one year, later reduced to six months. Sonnen was then ready to make his return in March against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128, but his UFC contract was frozen in order for Sonnen to “take some time off from his fight career to focus on the resolution of some personal issues.”
During Wednesday’s appeal hearing, Sonnen said if his suspension isn’t lifted, he could not only be missing out on an opportunity to coach The Ultimate Fighter 14 opposite Michael Bisping, but his fighting career could be over.
“If I don’t get my license today I’m effectively retired,” Sonnen said, according to ESPN writer Josh Gross. “That came from the boss, Dana White.”
Ryan Bader Makes a Funny on Cain Velasquez’s UFC Summit Satisfaction Survey (Middle Easy).Chael Sonnen’s Struggle With the Truth Isn’t Just His Problem—It’s Ours, Too (MMAFighting).Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Nearly Came to Blows in a Vegas Club T…
Ryan Bader Makes a Funny on Cain Velasquez’s UFC Summit Satisfaction Survey (Middle Easy).
Chael Sonnen’s Struggle With the Truth Isn’t Just His Problem—It’s Ours, Too (MMAFighting).
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans Nearly Came to Blows in a Vegas Club This Week (Cage Potato).
Pablo Garza reflects on path leading him to spectacular submission (Five Ounces of Pain).
Fabricio Werdum: I’m going to win the Strikeforce Tournament, then beat the UFC Champion (LowKick).
UFC 131: Junior dos Santos Cares More About When He Fights Than Who He Fights (MMA Convert).
Shane Carwin: I Have Everything to Gain From Fighting Junior Dos Santos (5th Round).
Dan Gable on Randy Couture’s retirement and wrestling in MMA (The Fight Nerd).
Management Breakup Splits Jon Jones, Rashad Evans (NBC Sports).
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, MiddleweightsWe haven’t updated our rankings of the Top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts in quite some time because, frankly, Anderson Silva has made it a boring division.
We haven’t updated our rankings of the Top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts in quite some time because, frankly, Anderson Silva has made it a boring division.
That’s not to say Silva is boring: When he’s on his game, he’s as exciting as any athlete this sport has ever seen. And it’s not to say the other fighters in the division are boring: There have been plenty of good middleweight scraps over the last few months.
But ranking the middleweight division can get boring because not much changes: It’s always Silva on top, and a familiar cast of characters competing for the right to be Silva’s next victim.
But there are some indications that the middleweight division in mixed martial arts might be getting a little more interesting. Yushin Okami is finally scheduled to get the title shot that was promised to him months ago, Chael Sonnen is finally getting close to being cleared for a return, and the addition of Strikeforce middleweights (starting in July with Jason Mayhem Miller and likely including Strikeforce champ Jacare Souza soon) may inject some new blood into the middleweight class.
So now is a good time to update our list of the Top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts, keeping an eye on what’s ahead for Silva and the other top fighters.
In an article last week, this writer broke the news that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen had his fighter’s license suspended by the state of California.
Wednesday’s news that 
If 
UFC middleweight 
We haven’t updated our rankings of the Top 10 middleweights in mixed martial arts in quite some time because, frankly, Anderson Silva has made it a boring division.