UFC Breaking News: Chael Sonnen Suspended and May be Prison Bound
By Sean Farrell
Chael Sonnen, who reached immediate overnight celebrity status after his recent five round war with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, has found himself in more hot water.
After the bout with Silva, Sonnen failed his drug test for elevated testosterone levels and had his license suspended for a year. Sonnen appealed the suspension paying a fine and having his sentence reduced to only six months, which the UFC thought was then end of the problems and penciled him in to face fellow middleweight, Yoshihiro Akiyama, at UFC 128 on March 19th.
It was report today that Sonnen plead guilty to money laundering and will be sentenced on March 28th. He is facing up to 20 years in prison but is expected to cooperate with investigators on the case and should only receive a slap on the wrist, two years of probation, loss of his realtor’s license and a $10,000 fine. Sonnen has admitted that he willingly submitted a false letter and sales agreement addendum involving the payment of a plumbing company for repairs to a house that he knew were not actually going to be made.
US Attorney Dwight Holton released a statement: “This office will continue to aggressively prosecute real estate professionals who committed the mortgage fraud that contributed to this country’s economic downturn and wreaked havoc on our community’s housing market. We entrusted these professionals to honestly broker real estate transactions and instead, they defrauded lending institutions throughout the country and left financial ruin in their wake.”
TMZ reported that UFC President Dana White has “frozen” Sonnen’s contract with the company: “Chael Sonnen has gone through a lot in the last few months and we think it’s important for him to focus on getting his personal life together before focusing on his career in the UFC.” White adds, “I spoke with Chael earlier today and he agrees that setting priorities in his life is the best thing for him right now. I sincerely hope Chael is able to straighten out his personal life.”
With no timetable on Sonnen’s return the UFC had to move forward and scratch him from his next scheduled fight at UFC 128 with Akiyama. Nate Marquardt who lost against Sonnen at UFC 109 will be his replacement. Marquardt is most recently coming of a loss to Yushin Okami, and is trying to regain his status within the division since Okami dominated him in their fight to determine the number one contender to Anderson Silva’s title.
Akiyama on the other hand was one of the biggest acquisitions in MMA in 2009 leaving K-1 and DREAM to try his skills in the Octagon. Although Akiyama is 1-2 in the UFC, his three fights with Alan Belcher, Chris Leben, and Michael Bisping have been among the most exciting in all of MMA.
With Sonnen’s recent problems and Dana White not having much patience with his fighters, this could be strike two for Sonnen and a loss once he does comes back could lead to his walking papers as well.