Chael Sonnen may be looking to return to the Octagon.
The former multi-time UFC title challenger announced his retirement in 2014 after he was handed a two-year suspension for failing several drug tests for a multitude of banned substances. That suspension is set to expire this July, and according to a report from UFC Tonight on Wednesday, his manager believes he’ll “jump at the chance” to fight again.
Sonnen has remained in the public eye throughout his suspension and despite the egregiousness of his drug use, not only serving as an analyst for ESPN but launching a successful podcast as well. He went 3-3 over his last six fights, with two of those losses coming in title fights to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. He was stopped by Rashad Evans in his final bout, and was expected to face Wanderlei Silva when he was popped in multiple out of competition tests.
Penick’s Analysis: There’s a segment of the fanbase who is excited about this, and who will want to see Sonnen again in the Octagon. He’s going to be 39 when he is able to come back, and he’s the most unabashed drug cheat we’ve seen come through at that main event level. He was mostly bluster to get his biggest opportunities, and he’s not going to be any type of high end competitor in 2016. Now, in a light heavyweight field featuring mostly past prime opponents, there are a lot of options still that the UFC could work with, but it should mean nothing more than a random fight when he comes back.
[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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