The California State Athletic Commission has voted 4-1 to uphold Chael Sonnen's indefinite suspension stemming from a post-UFC 117 drug test which revealed elevated testosterone levels. Sonnen subsequently claimed to be undergoing treatment for hypergonadism but had not fully communicated this treatment to the CSAC or NSAC, according to director Keith Kizer, who also found Sonnen's excuses to be dubious. Though Sonnen successfully appealed his testosterone-related suspension (cut from one year to six months including time served), his statements to the athletic commission were later reviewed and generally found to be tantamount to perjury, prolonging his suspension in perpetuity. This ruling coincides with Sonnen's recent felony conviction for money laundering in an Oregon real estate scheme but the motion to uphold the suspension is not affected by that conviction. Rumour has it that this ruling will effectively retire Sonnen from MMA for two reasons: he can't get licensed to fight in the US and he is unwilling to fight for another promotion. During the hearing Sonnen's attorney revealed that his client had been tapped to coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Bisping, ostensibly culminating in a middleweight title eliminator, but the commission was unswayed by the UFC's valuation of the fighter.
If this is the end for Sonnen he has had a good career. The 34-year old has a record of 25-11-1 with ten of his wins coming via knockout or submission. Sonnen peaked in his early 30s putting together wins over Paulo Filho, Yushin Okami, and Nate Marquardt, but will mostly be remembered for his valiant title challenge vs. Anderson Silva at UFC 117 which earned him Fight of the Year 2010 but was later tarnished by a failed urine test.
As much as I dislike him it sucks that his career may be stripped from him. That said if I had to pick one guy for this to happen to, it very well could be him. He would have been interesting on TUF but a Sonnen-Bisping fight? Sounds terribly boring.
Sonnen-Bisping doesn't appeal to me, either. Just give Sonnen his rematch with Silva. He's already beat top contenders. Apparently Sonnen will be allowed to reapply for his license next month.
