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That headline is not a typo: ESPN.com’s MMA page is reporting that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen is suspended from fighting in not one, but two states. Sonnen has had an ongoing issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since…
That headline is not a typo: ESPN.com’s MMA page is reporting that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen is suspended from fighting in not one, but two states. Sonnen has had an ongoing issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since having his fighter’s license suspended for failing a drug test back in September of […]
Chael Sonnen: California State Athletic Commission Suspends His Fighting License
That headline is not a typo: ESPN.com’s MMA page is reporting that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen is suspended from fighting in not one, but two states. Sonnen has had an ongoing issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since…
That headline is not a typo: ESPN.com’s MMA page is reporting that UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen is suspended from fighting in not one, but two states.
Sonnen has had an ongoing issue with the Nevada State Athletic Commission ever since having his fighter’s license suspended for failing a drug test back in September of 2010.
That suspension, reduced from one year to six months, was over in March, but Sonnen has yet to receive a new license in Nevada.
CSAC executive officer George Dodd said the suspension was issued after their legal panel felt that Sonnen may “have perjured himself during a testimony at an appeal hearing in December related to his ban for elevated levels of testosterone.”
This seriously affects Sonnen’s ability to get back in the Octagon, since this suspension “asks North American regulatory bodies to contact California before issuing the UFC middleweight contender a license to compete, corner, promote or act as a manager.”
Sonnen and his lawyers asked for a CSAC special hearing on May 18 in Los Angeles to have the suspension revoked, and the CSAC obliged.
The topics will not just pertain to Sonnen’s failed drug test for elevated testosterone; the legal charges he received last month from a money laundering scandal in Oregon are also going to be brought into the discussion.
Just to reiterate, Sonnen received 24 months’ probation, a $10,000 fine and the suspension of his realtor’s license in that case.
Dodd eventually decided that Sonnen’s questionable testimony, as well as his actions as a business professional, brought “discredit to the mixed martial arts community,” which he felt was enough to suspend his license indefinitely.
Officials in both California and Nevada agree that no one was aware that Sonnen was receiving testosterone therapy for hypogonadism, a condition that limits the body’s natural production of the hormone.
ESPN.com also reports that Sonnen has been receiving treatment for this condition since February of 2008. However, Florida’s athletic commission indicated that Sonnen’s drug test from his November 2008 fight with Paulo Filho came back clean.
Marc Ratner, the head of regulatory affairs in the UFC, indicated that he had “no idea whatsoever” that Sonnen was receiving prescribed testosterone until his failed drug test in 2010.
Ratner, who is also a former head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, indicated that he never gave Sonnen permission to receive testosterone therapy, although a “therapeutic use exemption” is not unheard of in this situation.
Even more interestingly, Dr. Jeff Davidson, a physician hired by the UFC, says that he knew about Sonnen’s hypogonadism treatment prior to his August title fight with Anderson Silva.
This actually further hurts Sonnen’s case, though, as Davidson wrote to the CSAC that Sonnen never disclosed his treatment to regulators.
Should Sonnen fail to have the suspension repealed on the 18th of this month, it is quite possible that his MMA career could come to an unceremonious end.
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The recovery process for any athlete can be grueling and hard to swallow, for the most part. Since January, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has been nursing a shoulder injury he suffered during his title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 1…
The recovery process for any athlete can be grueling and hard to swallow, for the most part.
Since January, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has been nursing a shoulder injury he suffered during his title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 122, ultimately forcing him out of action.
Velasquez, who participated in the “Super 7” presentation last week, spoke about the condition of his injury.
“I had a torn labrum and they had to reattach it,” Velasquez told UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.
“It takes so long because of the shoulder, they said not a lot of blood gets to the shoulder, so it takes a while for it to heal.”
Velasquez, who carries an undefeated record of 9-0-0, commented on his rehabilitation and said his main intention is to regain the strength and motion in his shoulder. Velasquez added that doctors have acknowledged his impressive recovery thus far and he expects to resume training under his doctors’ orders.
“I have all the faith in the doctors that the UFC provides, so once he says, ‘100 percent,’ then I’m ready to go,” he said.
As far as when the heavyweight champion will return to the Octagon, reports have suggested he will make his first title defense in October. In the meantime, Velasquez will wait for either Brock Lesnar or Junior Dos Santos, as they will battle to determine the No. 1 contender for Velasquez’s title.
When asked on the possibility of a potential rematch with Lesnar, Velasquez doesn’t expect the former heavyweight champion to be an easy opponent.
“The competitor that he is, you’re always going to get a better guy, a better Brock Lesnar. He is going to keep improving, just like all these guys are, everybody in this sport is going to keep evolving, the sport is going to keep evolving so you can never take anybody lightly at all,” he said.
Velasquez also commented on the acquisition of Strikeforce and praised the addition of heavyweight talent such as Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.
In regards to the talent the UFC can acquire and bring forth, Velasquez said he is eager to fight top competition, in order to determine the best heavyweight in mixed martial arts.
“I’m glad that the UFC finally can, later down the road, match everybody up together, so that the fans and me can have a true number one champion.”
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“Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”—Rudy Tomjanovich Last weekend at UFC 129 in Toronto, Ontario, Mark “the Machine” Hominick proved without any shadow of a doubt that he absolutely possesses the true heart of a…
“Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”—Rudy Tomjanovich
Last weekend at UFC 129 in Toronto, Ontario, Mark “the Machine” Hominick proved without any shadow of a doubt that he absolutely possesses the true heart of a champion.
After suffering a serious knockdown in the third round of his fight, Hominick somehow managed to keep his composure intact, and courageously battled his way back by nearly defeating the UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo, in the final minute of the fifth and final round.
Imagine if you can—55,000 fans, all on their feet, screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs for Hominick to destroy the battered and vulnerable champion. It almost happened.
The energy in the final moments of Hominick’s fight was nothing short of electric and amazing. I can only imagine that if Hominick had actually won the championship belt that night, the roar from the crowd would have certainly blown the roof off of the Rogers Centre (or at the very least, shredded my ear drums).
Today, I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with Mark, now that he has had some time to relax and reflect on the entire experience.
Enjoy.
James Ryan: Hi Mark, how are you today?
Mark Hominick: Doing great, James! What’s going on?
JR: Not too much. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today.
MH: Not a problem.
JR: Did I catch you at an alright time? I understand that you and your wife are expecting your first child any day now.
MH: Yeah, it’s just any minute right now. We’re gonna go for a walk after this.
JR: Right on. So, do you know if it’s going to be a boy or a girl?
MH: A girl.
JR: A girl, eh?
MH: Yeah, all fighters have girls.
JR: [Laughs] Is that the unwritten rule?
MH: It is the unwritten rule. [Laughs]
JR: Cool. Alright, well then, let’s get right to this…I would love to get your take on your performance from last weekend. Overall, how do you feel about your performance and how things went?
MH: You know what? Obviously, I’m disappointed, you know? I didn’t win the title and that was what I went in there to do. A lot of people are happy by the performance that I put in though. I made it a competitive fight, and almost took it at the end. But I went in there to win, you know?
I know I was the underdog, but I still…there was nothing in my mind that was saying that I wasn’t going to win that fight.
I think I can beat that guy, you know? A few changes and I think I have the tools to do it.
JR: Well, based on your performance, I would have to agree with you.
Does it feel odd when people congratulate you on your performance, but in your mind, you know that you lost and you didn’t maybe fulfill your goal?
MH: Oh, for sure. Like, it’s definitely rewarding to know that the hard work that I put in—into the training camp and into the fight, is getting rewarded even though I didn’t come out on top. And people respect what I put out there, and the performance that I did put out there, but yeah, like I said, I went there to win.
JR: True enough.
Mark, I recently watched a video of your fight preparations. I guess Shawn Tompkins had put it together?
MH: Yep.
JR: I watched it on MMeh Fighter and in terms of understanding your preparations and what you go through, I thought it was a really great video. It gave some really cool insights into how you break the fight down, round by round, and how that might be implemented into an actual game plan.
Looking back, how do you feel about the preparations? Do you feel that you went in there with the best possible game plan?
MH: Oh yeah, my training camp is what made me so calm leading up to the fight. There was such a build up for the fight, and such a build up for the show in general, just because it was such a huge thing for Ontario MMA, and MMA in general.
But I think what kept me so focused and calm, was just the training camp that I went through, because I knew I did everything I could in training camp.
There was no stone left unturned. I put my effort—my heart and soul into training camp, so I knew all I needed to do was to go out there and perform because I knew I had put in the work.
JR: Right. So, in the video, they talked about you going in there and just implementing your own game plan, and not worrying about your opponent so much. Do you feel that sort of…is that how things went? Or as the fight went on, were you…?
MH: Yeah, for sure, like, I mean, I backed him off. I did the things that I wanted to do.
The only thing…the momentum that I was taking over in the second and third rounds, I felt I was really…that it was starting to become my fight.
I thought I was winning a lot of the exchanges, but then there was the knockdown. He had good punching power and that’s something that’s God-given, and he definitely has that, and the knockdown that he scored in the third kinda took the wind out of my sails a bit until I came back in the fifth.
JR: Right, okay. And so how would you compare fighting in the WEC to the UFC?
MH: Oh, the event is just that much more respected. It’s so big, you know? Everybody associates MMA with the UFC and there’s such a build up, and there’s so much anticipation for all the fights.
Meanwhile, with the WEC, it almost felt like you were at a fight club type of thing, you know? There was a cult following, and you know, every time you tuned into the WEC, you were gonna get a great fight, so it was pretty special to be a part of that, but the build up—the media build up and the anticipation for the UFC card is second to none. The UFC has done such a great job at marketing themselves and promoting the events properly.
JR: Definitely.
In terms of yourself, once you were in the cage, did you even notice the difference in the size of the crowd?
MH: No, that’s one thing that I’ve always prided myself on, is that I am always focused on the task at hand, and my opponent.
But with that being said, I’ve never fed off of the crowd like I did in that last minute of the fight.
JR: Is that right?
MH: They were so loud, and they were just cheering me on so much, that I was fighting for the crowd, and they were carrying me through that last round and last minute of that round, trying to finish.
But you know, I remember right when they were calling our names, like right before we started fighting, I was just thinking in my head that this is the same as any other fight. It’s just two guys, fighting in a cage, you know? That’s it!
To me, it doesn’t matter how many people are there. I’m just focused on the job in front of me and the task at hand.
JR: Cool, awesome. Last question—the idea of fighting the Korean Zombie…how did that come about?
MH: You know, a lot of people had been mentioning it to me, and that got me thinking about how it would be a great fight.
He just came off of a big win against Leonard Garcia, and he likes to go to war, you know? I know he’d put on a ‘fight of the night’ type of performance, and we both like to go at it, so it’s a fight that makes a lot of sense—not just from the fans point of view, but also from a rankings point of view.
He’s coming off a win, he’s climbing the ladder, and I want to prove that I’m still there and I’m deserving of another title shot after a couple more fights down the road.
JR: Excellent. Have you had any communication at all with the UFC about the possibility of this fight actually happening?
MH: Well, I’m currently under medical suspension for 60 days, so I know I’m not on the top of their list, but if it’s a fight that they want, I’ll sign tomorrow.
JR: Right on!
MH: So, I mean, it’s a fight that I think we both would like. He has shown interest, and I am definitely interested in that fight, and if the UFC wants to sign that—I think it’s one that makes sense, and let’s get on it!
JR: Fantastic Mark! I couldn’t agree more. I would personally love to see that fight happen.
Is there anything else that you would like to mention before I let you go?
MH: Just that the amount of support leading up to the fight, and after the fight has been overwhelming, and it’s just very much appreciated to know that I have people behind me, backing me, and supporting me in all aspects of the game.
JR: Terrific. Well, have a great night and enjoy your walk. Thanks again for your time, Mark.
Best of luck with the new baby.
MH: Sounds good, James. Thank you as well.
This is my interview. If you don’t like it…I have others. Check them out at www.mrjamesryan.com
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It’s been just over a week since news broke that a team of Navy SEALs had eliminated America’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.Even so, critics of the President and his policies remain vocal. One of those critics is UFC fighter, Jacob Volkmann.Accordi…
It’s been just over a week since news broke that a team of Navy SEALs had eliminated America’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.
Even so, critics of the President and his policies remain vocal. One of those critics is UFC fighter, Jacob Volkmann.
According to MMAJunkie‘s Steven Marrocco, Volkmann has a planned speech for his next post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. The speech will be focused on President Obama, no matter the questions he is asked.
“Even though people don’t want me to do it, I don’t care,” he told MMAjunkie.com.
Volkmann first got in trouble after a controversial interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani after UFC 125, in which he claimed that, if he could fight just one person, it would be President Obama.
It’s the President’s health care policy that’s been the focus of Volkmann’s frustration.
The words drew a ton of attention from even national media sources. Members of the secret service even visited Volkmann.
Volkmann, a wrestling coach at White Bear Lake High School, was suspended from that job for a short period after the incident with the secret service.
Even worse, he has not been scheduled for another fight since his win over Antonio McKee at UFC 125.
The UFC told Volkmann that it was not because of the comments he made, but rather, that the UFC’s lightweight division is so cluttered right now.
He has been adamant and stuck to what he said before regarding the President’s health care policies. As a chiropractor himself, Volkmann deals first-hand with the endless paperwork required under the new rules.
“It’s like he doesn’t even really care about what happens,” Volkmann proclaimed. “He has these policies, and he doesn’t have a clue what they’re about. He’s doing a horrible job.”
As a UFC fighter, Volkmann intends on using his fame to continue to reject what is going on under the current administration.
“I’m hoping that he calls me, and actually wants to know why I’m saying this stuff,” Volkmann said.
With no opponent yet determined from the Republican side for the 2012 election and Bin Laden dead, Obama may have a couple of minutes to spare to talk to a disgruntled citizen.
But probably not.
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Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:Not only is Anderson Silva beloved by UFC fans all over the world, but he is a also a cultural icon in his native land of Brazil. It is with this reason, that Silva is expected to be offered a deal to star in his own…
Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:
Not only is Anderson Silva beloved by UFC fans all over the world, but he is a also a cultural icon in his native land of Brazil.
It is with this reason, that Silva is expected to be offered a deal to star in his own television show according to GracieMag.com.
Graciemag.com reporter, Junior Samurai, confirms that the UFC middleweight champion is set to sign a contract with Brazilian TV network, Rede TV!, to host a weekly television program in anticipation of his upcoming title bout at UFC Rio this summer.
The website also said that the idea of featuring Silva hosting his own program, was part of a marketing strategy by 9ine, the publicity firm who manges prominent Brazilian’s such as soccer star Ronaldo and Silva, himself.