Dana White UFC Shocker: Chael Sonnen Cut
By Sean Farrell
Chael Sonnen’s UFC suspension had some questioning why UFC officials don’t levy company mandated suspensions more often. UFC President Dana White revealed Sonnen was not technically suspended, but his contract was “frozen” as an alternative to releasing him from his contract from the promotion. “Listen, what we did with Chael Sonnen is – I talked to Chael Sonnen. Chael Sonnen said, ‘If I don’t fight for the UFC, I don’t want to fight anywhere else. So, if you could NOT cut me…,” White stated.
Sonnen was in danger of being cut for his guilty plea in his real estate fraud/money laundering case, which followed his mess with the Nevada State Athletic Commission over Sonnen’s use of synthetic testosterone. White spoke on this when he stated “Yeah, We basically freeze your contract. Your contract is frozen until you get your personal life together.”
As for when the bad boy Chael Sonnen will reappear, White admitted that he isn’t sure and that the outcome of Sonnen’s impending sentencing hearing will likely go a long way in determining Sonnen’s return date. “I don’t know,” White said regarding Sonnen’s return. “He’s still got that hearing coming up in April, so we’ll see what happens.”
Despite his current status as a bench warmer, Sonnen has been active via Twitter, calling out several fighters, including Michael Bisping trying to remain relavent in the MMA world even while not fighting. When asked if he was interested in booking that match up, White replied, “Bad guy vs. bad guy? I don’t know… Chael’s got some things he needs to handle before he should think about fighting anybody.”
Sonnen last appeared at UFC 117 last August in a title fight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, he lost via fifth round submission and earned everyone’s respect by being the one man to dominate Silva, only to fail his post fight drug test and start the snowball effect of thing to come.