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Currently, Chael Sonnen is under a thirty day suspension by the CSAC, but it is rumored that he could be suspended for up to one year. Which, if it proves to be true, could put Chael Sonnen out of action until this time next year, or longer depending on when the suspension starts. The instant rematch was awarded to Chael Sonnen after his classic encounter with current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117.
It seems that the UFC has already gotten proactive with the situation, as the upcoming UFC 122 main event between Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami will crown a top contender to the UFC Middleweight Championship. Assuming either Vitor Belfort or Yushin Okami can go through the fight without gaining a serious injury, one could speculate that they could replace Chael Sonnen against Anderson Silva.
Also, the UFC 117 battle between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen was considered to be an instant classic by many MMA fans, myself included. The challenger, Chael Sonnen, fought the champion so well that he was granted a rare immediate rematch by UFC President Dana White. One must now consider how the positive drug test result will effect the way the fight goes down in UFC lure.
Now one must focus on Chael Sonnen, who has gone from brash trash talking challenger to potential cheater and steroid user. For all the trash talking Chael Sonnen did leading to his UFC 117 encounter with Anderson Silva, he actually backed it up for four rounds until tapping in the fifth. Now, the positive test result makes all the trash talk and the fight effort null and void, because was it Chael Sonnen who was defeating Anderson Silva or the performance enhancing substances.
The one who may walk away looking the best out of this whole wacky situation is the current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva entered the fight with a quiet demeanor and with a then unrevealed rib injury that the champion disclosed after the fight. Now you add the fact that he entered the fight clean and tapped out a steroid using opponent after losing the first four rounds of the fight, all that makes Anderson Silva a better fighter in the eyes of the fans.
As of this writing (9/20), Anderson Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, has stated that Anderson Silva is currently training for his rematch with Chael Sonnen until something is announced about the fighters potential suspension. One could make a really simple assumption here and says that a Chael Sonnen suspension should be announced shortly.
Speaking hypothetically here, lets says that Chael Sonnen wound up defeating Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Title, then failed the drug test. I would says the UFC would handle the situation the same way they handled then UFC Lightweight Champions Sean Sherk’s suspension for a failed drug test, which is strip the champion of the title and hold a fight to crown a new champion.
The headline of this column you are reading asks, should Chael Sonnen still get a rematch with Anderson Silva? In my humble opinion, no, because Chael Sonnen used an illegal substance in his first fight with the champion and still couldn’t get the job done, so why should an accused cheater be given another opportunity, whether or not he entered the rematch clean or dirty.
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
