August 7, 2010 will forever be known as the day the MMA community was “Almost” turned upside down for multiple reasons. On that night Chael Sonnen nearly pulled off a miraculous victory over the best fighter I have ever seen, Anderson “The Spider” Silva. But, this is not about what almost happened; it is about what did happen. Now, before you guys and gals start questioning me as to why on earth I am writing about something that happened over two years ago, hear me out, I promise I am going somewhere with this.
Shortly after his loss to Silva, Sonnen popped positive for having a ridiculously high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone of 16.9:1. Keep in mind that a normal man has a 1-1 ratio, so in other words, his ratio was almost 17 times that of a normal man. Now you might be asking, how did the MMA community get turned upside down? Well, for starters, a loss by Silva would have been his first inside the octagon. Also, on that night, our Middleweight Champion would have been a fighter who won a title while using performance enhancing drugs. Now for those that say that Chael required the use of TRT, I’ll tell you this; you should never use TRT to the point where your ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone is 16.9:1, end of story.
Sonnen wouldn’t fight again for 14 months after being suspended. During this time, people as high up as UFC President Dana White were defending Sonnen, and in the process, making Sonnen look like a victim. Five months after his loss to Silva, Sonnen was seen pleading guilty to money laundering which had to do with mortgage fraud. Inexplicably, he was defended by his fans again.
Fast forward to July 7, 2012, where on that night, Sonnen was soundly defeated via TKO in the second round by Anderson Silva. This loss came after Sonnen had won a pair of fights against Brian Stann and Michael Bisping at UFC 136 and UFC on Fox 2 respectively. A month after the loss, Sonnen announced that he was moving back to the Light Heavyweight division for the first time in 7 years. Sonnen was supposed to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 155, but a wild change of events changed not only the 205 division, but the entire landscape of MMA.
UFC 151 as we all know was canceled. I won’t get into much detail of what exactly happened, but I will tell you that it was the beginning of a downhill roll. We all know that Chael Sonnen volunteered to fight Jon Jones at the event in order to “Save it.” We also know the results of what ultimately happened with UFC 151. But something else happened that day; Chael Sonnen went from greatness to legend in the eyes of his fans. Even Dana White was impressed with Sonnen for stepping up. I for one was not impressed. Why wouldn’t he step up? It keeps his name on everyone’s mind.
Fast forward to the present day, and what do we have? In my opinion, what we have is a huge smack in the face of the true fans of MMA. Sonnen being tabbed opposite Jon Jones as coach of the Ultimate Fighter is a black eye for the sport. This all came about because Sonnen trashed talked his way into another title fight and because it’s the fight that fans “wanted” to see. Well, here is what I propose: Why don’t we start a petition to see a fight between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and the actual Big Foot? This fight makes sense and would be epic, wouldn’t it?
I can sit here and complain about this situation for days, but the truth is, I don’t even blame Sonnen for this. I blame his most vocal fans and the UFC for making MMA a circus show. Who honestly believes Chael deserves this fight? Better yet, who thinks that this fight will end in a way that’s any different than Chael’s last loss to Silva? Chael is the same fighter that lost to a man now fighting in the welterweight division in Demian Maia, so thinking that he could beat the king of the 205 pound division is absurd. The integrity of MMA is being compromised because a select group of fans want to see this fight. Gone are the days when title shots are earned. I guess Chael got his shot at Jon Jones by defeating Tim Williams on July 9, 2005. That was his last win in the light heavyweight division. Please, let that statement sink in for a minute or two.
Watch the video below as ESPN’s analysts break down the impending fight between Jones and Sonnen.
VIDEO COURTESY OF ESPN..
By comparison, it took Gray Maynard and Jon Fitch 8 wins in the UFC a piece, before they each earned their title shots. So I guess it all comes down to charisma, doesn’t it? The fact that Chael can talk somehow makes this ok. We have dealt with a lot of difficult decisions that have been made, but this one is by far the hardest one to swallow. Dan Henderson deserved better. We as fans deserved better as well. Before I stop this rant, I’ll ask you guys and gals this question: Should the Super Bowl be the AFC Champion against a team that lost 12 games during the regular season, just because fans want to see it? If you answered no to that question, but you still support Sonnen getting a shot, well, I really don’t know what to say to you.
As a longtime fan of MMA, it saddens me to see what the sport is becoming. The sport is becoming a popularity contest where title shots are given instead of earned. What’s worse is that there are fans that see nothing wrong with this. Things like this are making me wonder whether or not MMA has reached its peak. With that said, 2013 should be an interesting year for the UFC. Now, whether or not that’s a good thing, is entirely up to the UFC.
Fight Fans: Is the integrity of MMA being compromised?!?
Update that’s not really an update: Alistair Overeem is getting the next shot at the winner of the heavyweight title fight between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez despite currently serving a one year long suspension due to elevated testosterone levels. Hang your hat on that one!
By Israel Gonzalez ~ Contributing Writer
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