UFC & FOX Sports Confirm Release Of Chael Sonnen As Broadcast Analyst
It sounds like the saga of Chael Sonnen has come to a sad, sad end, as the former middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger has been released by the promotion from his position as a FOX Sports analyst after failing a second Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) drug test for human growth hormone (HGH), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), in addition to anastrozole and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) again.
Sonnen retired the day after he tested positive for anastrozole, clomifene, and hCG in a prior NSAC drug test on Saturday, May 23. Sonnen was initially open about the drugs he said were used openly with the prescription of a physician in an effort to wean himself off of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) after the NSAC and UFC banned the controversial treatment earlier this year.
But HGH and EPO are nothing more than performance-enhancing substances, and Sonnen’s employers had seen enough. The UFC and FOX Sports confirmed Sonnen’s release in an official statement:
Las Vegas, Nev. – The UFC and FOX Sports organizations announced today the termination of their respective broadcasting services agreements with analyst Chael Sonnen. This decision comes in light of Sonnen failing a second test conducted by the Nevada Athletic Commission for banned substances in June. Sonnen was previously under temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for failing an initial test conducted in May.
So Sonnen is gone for good after nearly fighting Vitor Belfort at this weekend’s (July 5, 2014) UFC 175 mere weeks ago. But while his fertility issues may have been able to provide a weak explanation (although unbelievably) his initial test failure, it’s clear he was simply using PEDs to enhance his abilities.
And with prior test failures and other indiscretions in his past, it’s hard to believe a single word Sonnen ever said, even if it was delivered with a silver tongue. So much for him “running the UFC when Dana White retires.”
