Matthew's Take
MATTHEW: The walls fall down on overly-arrogant Chael Sonnen with failed PED test
Sep 20, 2010 - 1:43:02 PM MATTHEW: The walls fall down on overly-arrogant Chael Sonnen with failed PED test

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By: Sam Matthew, MMATorch Columnist

Just when everyone thought the overly-arrogant Chael Sonnen’s head couldn’t get any bigger, a positive result from an athletically sanctioned steroid test has the former contender’s cranium deflating (literally) along with his ego. Despite losing in last-minute fashion to champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117 via modified armbar/triangle choke, the Team Quest standout earned himself an immediate rematch with “The Spider” by dominating the five-round affair for over 23 minutes. Accomplishing something no man has been able to do - controlling the champion on his back - Sonnen also trash-talked his way into the Octagon with an excess of pre-fight hype that drew the ire of many MMA fans and provoked the fury of keyboard warriors around the world (wide web).

Well now Chael Sonnen, you can add your own name to the list of athletes you’ve attempted to drag through the mud. However, the key difference between you and Lance Armstrong or Brock Lesnar, is the fact that they’ve never failed a drug test. After making outrageous accusations that Lance Armstrong gave himself testicular cancer using steroids and attempting to slander the names of many other athletes on his megalomaniacal journey towards media fame, Chael Sonnen has disgraced himself forever.

By testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug on a California State Athletic Commissions pre-fight drug screen before UFC 117, Sonnen has likely lost his rematch for the middleweight title, he will probably face a suspension and fine from the CSAC and may even receive his walking papers from the UFC. At best Sonnen can hope for a Sean Sherk-style recovery, in which he’ll have to start over working his way back up through the ranks of lower-level fighters, this time hopefully without the help of anabolic steroids. Although, Sherk was given a title opportunity when he came back after appealing his failed test. Luckily for Chael he didn’t have many fans to lose in the first place, but if you were sick of him before (and I certainly was) now the extremely critical MMA community will absolutely despise this man.

Steroid rumors circulated before the fight occurred because of the heavy presence of acne and lesions on his backm clearly visible at weigh-ins and in photographs. This positive test only confirms what a few suspected. Testosterone-based steroids, and in particular, the undetectable Human Growth Hormones, can often result in acne outbreaks and various other side effects. Photos of Chael Sonnen taken at weigh-ins from UFC 98, 104, 109, and finally 117 seem to show a marked increase of acne on Sonnen’s body, from essentially nonexistent at UFC 98 to looking like a high school boy’s face on prom night at 117. Ultimately rumors of skin problems being a known side effect for heavy-steroid use are completely unsubstantiated and meaningless, but failing a laboratory-grade drug test just proves that Sonnen juiced his way to the top.

In one fell swoop Chael Sonnen has lost everything he has sought to achieve by cheating his way to title contention. Likely to deny all accusations in the coming week, and to appeal the CSAC’s decision, this could very well turn into another highly-publicized case along the lines of Josh Barnett’s debacle. Barnett, a recent Strikeforce acquisition whose continuing trouble with California’s Athletic board due to failed steroids tests and no-showing appeals hearings, has drawn mockery from even casual MMA fans.

Indeed I imagine Chael Sonnen was feeling on top of the world with an upcoming title rematch guaranteed and media sources around the world jousting for his attention. How bad it must feel for all that glory to come crashing down with the realization that everyone knows he cheated and used steroids to unfairly achieve victory and endanger his opponents in the process. He has become a modern day Ozymandias, and to borrow the words of Percy, “My name is Chael Sonnen, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”

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