Chael Sonnen's Future

[Turd Ferguson]

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.

In January, Sonnen avoided jail time with a guilty plea to one charge of money laundering by agreeing to forfeit his real estate license and paying a $10,000 fine.

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."

Sonnen is basically on a blacklist, where he cannot fight, be a cornerman, promote, or manage. If he wishes to do any of this in another state, he still needs to get clearance from the CSAC. Futhermore, the UFC will uphold any suspension handed down for fighting out of the country, and all the state commissions work together in the first place, and don't want to step on each other's toes. Chael cannot apply for a license until June 2012 in California.

I'm assuming Chael gets cut next, and he'll basically be relegated to fighting in Asia and Europe.

Chael thirsts for the spotlight though, and he also thirsts for being controversial. I don't think he's going to return to MMA as a result of what happened today. What I do think will happen is that Chael Sonnen will wind up in the WWE.

Chael has formal pro wrestling training, having been enrolled in the WCW Power Plant. He went from an unknown to garnering national attention with nothing more than his mouth. The man knows how to promote a fight, that is for sure. Also, having a background in amateur wrestling (Chael was an Olympic alternate) is the best base for professional wrestling, look no further than the success Kurt Angle, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler have had, and how quickly they grew into top-level pro wrestlers. Furthermore, he's close with Roddy Piper, that connection can only help, and it's rumored that many pro wrestlers were actively rooting for Chael against Anderson Silva and that he received texts from wrestlers in the week leading up to the fight wishing him well. He'd fit in quite well in the WWE Locker Room, and Vince would love to capitalize on his popularity.

He doesn't even need to be a wrestler to find success in the WWE. He could be the Anonymous Raw General Manager. The WWE is starting to utilize managers again, with Michael Hayes and possibly Arn Anderson. Sonnen could be a hell of a mouthpiece for charismatically challenged wrestlers.

What happened to Chael Sonnen today was terrible. Did he bring it on himself? Perhaps, but the CSAC took away his livelihood... he can't even fall back on real estate, and it's a shame that the second best Middleweight in the sport, and the most charismatic man in the sport has to retire in his prime.

Chael will be cut by the UFC very soon, and he'll be in the WWE by the end of the year. Count on it.

 

[jmt225]

I don't understand why Chael has to retire. The UFC has done a great job with events outside the country, where athletic commissions mean fuck all. Why can't Chael fight in Brazil? Or Canada? Or the UK? Or Australia?

Seriously, you want Chael vs. Bisping to coach the Ultimate Fighter? Do it, and then set the fight up in the UK. It'll be huge. Fuck United States Athletic Commissions. They don't give a fuck, nor do they have any knowledge about the sport MMA, so why should the UFC or any other USA MMA organization abide by them when there are ways around their "rulings"?

Josh Barnett played the system; I'm sure the UFC can find a way to do it with Chael Sonnen.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

You know I'm the biggest Chael fan on the forum, but at some point, you have to wonder how much trouble he's worth to the UFC. The UFC put a lot of faith into Chael, where despite all the crap he's gone through and all the scrutiny he's been under, they were willing to put him in a high-profile position in coaching TUF, where he'd be in line for a title shot. But with him unable to fight in the US, he can't become a coach either, which means they'd have to uproot the entire production of TUF to England... which with the costs involved, Spike may not want to do.

And even after all that, does the UFC want to build a season of TUF around a free event on Spike from the UK? Assuming Chael wins, the Silva/Sonnen rematch wouldn't even happen until the Summer of 2012 assuming Chael can get a license.

The UFC is still in a place where they don't want to piss off the commissions as the sport is still in its infancy. Unfortunately, this means having to play ball with them and honor any decisions that have been made.

Chael has very limited options. It's Europe, Asia, or maybe Bellator, as they run a lot of shows on Indian conservations.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I am a huge Sonnen fan, and it kills me that there's a possibility he wont ever fight in the UFC again. What i'm curious about is what he will do between now and 2012, I think that he could benefit from fighting in Asia and Europe. The best possible outcome for Chael assuming he does not get cut and gets to fight in the UFC again is building up his record with some wins against respected figthers overseas, then coming back with a nice little streak and the ability to get him to a title shot sooner.

If this doesnt work out, I am very interested in this WWE move that you brought up Lloyd. My first wish is Chael back in the UFC because he needs to take the belt off Anderson but if he never gets back with the UFC why not have him go to my other favorite sport? We've seen guys like Lesnar and Lashley cross over to MMA, now lets get some mixed martial artists in the WWE. If he went the way of being a manager should he be put with someone like Swagger to stick him with a wrestler?

As cool as Chael Sonnen WWE superstar sounds I believe his destiny is the UFC, and I am praying right now and every day that we see him back next year.

 

[INDYjon22]

It really is a damn shame that this is happening to the second best Middleweight in the world and the only man who has shown he can really hang with Anderson Silva. Did he bring some of this on himself? Yes he did. But from a fans perspective this fucking sucks. People love hearing fighters talk shit, it sells fights, and now the best of the best at it isn't allowed to do it anymore, at least until 2012. I really hope this isn't the end of the line for him because he is at the top of his game and is one of the most polarizing characters in all of MMA. It just really sucks to see Chael get blacklisted like this. Hopefully he can come back from this, but if he chooses not to then a career on pro wrestling would be a good move. He can talk, we all know that, and he has the wrestling background. I don't know how far he would go in the wrestling world, but I sure as hell would support him.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

The rollercoaster ride for Chael Sonnen isn't over yet.

Holy shit, the CSAC is the most inept athletic commission ever.

The following comes from pretentious douchebag Josh Gross' Twitter...

CSAC just sent out a press release correcting Chael Sonnen's length of suspension. He is free to apply anywhere, including Calif., June 29.

CSAC misinterpreted Rule 399 that applied to the revocation or denial of a license. It does not apply to a suspension.

RT @CycloneAbou @JoshGrossESPN 2011? or 2012? ... Sonnen can apply for a license anywhere June 29, 2011.

Re: TUF, Sonnen required corner license by 6/5. They have to change production dates & NSAC has to license him. So unclear if he can do it.

Right now, Sonnen needs to kiss Keith Kizer's ass. TUF might be out of the question, but regardless, it looks like Sonnen still has a future in the UFC.