Fate in balance for Chael Sonnen at 4/27 NSAC hearing

At UFC 117 Chael Sonnen beat Anderson Silva for over twenty minutes. Things have gone downhill since. With two minuites left in the final round, Sonnen tapped to a triangle choke. Then the California Satea Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspended him for a year when high levels of testosterone were found in his drug test.

At a hearing to contest the sentence Sonnen stated he had undergone testosterone-replacement therapy since 2008, and after a convoluted series of statements, the CSAC halved his one year suspension to six months. While this testimony took him six months closer to reistatement, it also set him potentially one year back, as Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) director Keith Kizer took exception to Chael’s claim that Kizer was aware of his condition. Kizer and Sonnen had never spoken.

Kizer eventually scheduled a face to face meeting with Sonnen to discuss that, and other public statements by Sonnen including criticism of referee Josh Rosenthal for a 2007 bout vs Paulo Filho where Sonnen tapped, claimed he didn’t tap, and eventually admitted he had tapped after all. At the meeting Kizer gave Sonnen ad opportunity to explain himself. Kizer neatly summed his reaction to Sonen’s defense: “That’s a ridiculous explanation.'”

Now Sonnen has been placed on the agenda for the next NSAC meeting, which takes place April 27 in Las Vegas. Ordinarily a fighter’s license is granted adminitratively. However, Chael Sonnen is not ordinary. “I don’t feel comfortable granting his licenses based on his background,” explained Kizer. “I feel the issues surrounding him are important enough for him to go before the full commission. That way, the commission will be able to discuss the issues that arose with respect to his last bout in California, as well as his recent criminal conviction.”

Earlier this year Sonnen plead guilty to federal money laundering after taking part in a real estate scheme to illegally net more than $69,000 in loan proceeds through the submission of a falsified repair, fulfiled by a business owned by his mother.

The five members of the NSAC will decide by majority whether or not to grant Sonnen both a fighter’s license and a second’s license. Kizer does not vote.

The second’s license is required for Sonnen to fill a rumored coaching slot opposite Michael Bisping in the next season of the reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.” A fighter’s license is required for Sonnen to fight in Las Vegas.