Chael Sonnen Fails Drug Test, Retires On UFC Tonight

Chael Sonnen photo by Josh Hedges for Zuffa LLC

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

Former UFC middleweight and lightweight contender Chael Sonnen failed his random drug test and is no longer fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 175.

For those of you at home, that makes three middleweights in the last month or so who failed drug tests (well Wandy technically just ran away, but you know…) While Sonnen had previously announced that he was going to appeal, on Wednesday night he seemed to change his mind and retired on-air on UFC Tonight.

Chael tested positive for Anastrozole and Clomiphene, which are not steroids, but rather estrogen blockers. People who know way more about this stuff than I do have said that these are the sort of things you take to transition from Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) usage. There’s also been a claim about Chael having fertility issues, which I don’t really understand. Sometimes it seems like you need an M.D. in juicehead bro-science to cover MMA.[[MORE]]

Given that the substances are not performance enhancing, but are banned because they’re typically used by juicers to help keep from growing bitch-tits and things like that, Chael’s offense doesn’t seem as bad as guys who are using performance enhancing substances. After all, Chael’s prior juicing was previously above-board and sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

I’m not saying I’m outraged by Chael’s suspension or anything like that. He used banned substances without checking with the commission, and then got caught during random testing. But this is a problem that the Nevada State Athletic Commission created by letting heavily-muscled athletes claim that the didn’t have enough testosterone. So I would have thought that if Chael had a valid prescription for non-performance enhancing drugs in order to come off his testosterone therapy, they might give him a pass when he appealed their decision. But it looks like that isn’t going to happen now.

However, given that this is Chael Sonnen, who has a bit of a reputation for distorting the facts, I wouldn’t be surprised if his version of events wasn’t exactly accurate. So his appeal might not have had as beneficial of a fact-pattern as it seemed when he announced it during his host spot on UFC Tonight and answered a single softball question from cohost KenFlo. One might even say that the UFC’s television show did not fairly present the other side of the story.

So what’s with all the guys testing positive recently in MMA? It almost seems as if fighters who are not expecting a test rarely pass, while it is common for fighters tested on the night of the fight to all come up clean.

Here’s one thing I do know: Non-random urine tests are bullshit. There are a thousand and one ways to beat them when you know they’re coming, as we’ve seen when guys who look like Wanderlei Silva or Alistair Overeem somehow manage to pass their fight night drug tests. It’s great that the Nevada State Athletic Commission is moving toward random tests because they’re really the only ones that are going to stop cheaters.

As we’ve said many times, it’s one thing if a despicable cheater like Ryan Braun hits a dinger an extra 30 feet, but it’s another thing if a cheater like Overeem is able to kick Brock Lesnar directly in the diverticulitis with 30% more force than a normal giant Dutch kickboxer. The same thing applies to the NFL, but they don’t really seem to care about having any sort of viable drug testing program.

A lot of people don’t like Chael, but I’m sad to see him go and it’s a major blow to the sport. Although Chael was never the greatest fighter in any weight class, in a sport where personality often trumps skill and Pay Per View buys are at issue, Chael knew how to sell a fight. Hopefully at some point he won’t need to take anti-estrogen supplements and we will see him in the Octagon again.