Sherdog’s Top 10: PED Busts

Chael Sonnen was a PED violator on multiple occasions. | Photo: Mike Sloan/Sherdog.com

3. Chael Sonnen
UFC 117 “Silva vs. Sonnen” | UFC 175 “Weidman vs. Machida”
Sonnen is one of MMA’s most charming, incisive and compelling personalities. He is also a borderline-psychotic competitor and, in a related strain that shocks nobody who understands exactly how much Sonnen wants -- or needs -- to win, owns two well-documented PED busts.

The first came directly on the heels of Sonnen’s rise to prominence. After mercilessly trash-talking Anderson Silva for months prior to their middleweight title fight at UFC 117 in August 2010 and brutalizing the champion for the better part of five rounds before succumbing to a late triangle armbar, Sonnen’s post-fight drug test came back hot. Actually, it came back hotter than hot, with a 16.9:1 ratio of testosterone-to-epitestosterone. Sonnen had reportedly been on testosterone replacement therapy but had neglected to apply for a therapeutic use exemption from the California State Athletic Commission. He was suspended for a year and fined $2,500, but a subsequent appeal -- Sonnen claimed he had previously disclosed his use to the CSAC and had been approved by Nevada’s commission -- led to a reduction of the suspension.

He returned to action the next year, duly confirmed therapeutic use exemption for TRT in hand, and defeated Brian Stann and Michael Bisping to get another shot at Silva. He lost and was rewarded with an ultimately unsuccessful challenge to Jon Jones’ light heavyweight crown. Sonnen then beat Mauricio Rua and lost to Rashad Evans, setting up a long-anticipated bout with Wanderlei Silva and a coaching stint on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.”

While the show went down as planned, the bout did not. Silva was pulled after running from a drug test, which Sonnen crowed about extensively. In a turn of events rife with irony, it was Sonnen whose random drug test came back with unequivocal evidence of PED usage. A blood and urine screening on June 5 showed that Sonnen had used both human growth hormone and EPO, which is typically used in endurance sports to increase stamina and training capacity.

Fox Sports 1 and the UFC both let Sonnen go in the aftermath of the second positive test, though nobody can keep the bad guy down for long. He has since launched a successful podcast and finagled a job as an MMA analyst for ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Number 2 » The downfall of an MMA legend has been quick and sharp, and the consequences will continue to reverberate throughout the sport for a long time to come.