“The American Gangster” is leaving the building. Chael Sonnen announced his decision to retire, and not fight his impending suspension, during “UFC Tonight” Wednesday evening. Sonnen failed a drug test recently, but continued to claim innocence in subsequent interviews.
“I want to officially announce my retirement from competitive mixed martial arts,” Sonnen said. “I have to put my health first. I have to put my family first.”
Sonnen (28-14-1) was a three-time challenger to UFC gold, falling twice to Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt and once to Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. He was defeated by Rashad Evans in his most recent appearance, and was scheduled to meet Wanderlei Silva before Silva was removed due to a failed drug test.
Officials moved quickly, placing Vitor Belfort against Sonnen for UFC 175 in July. However, Sonnen was found to have two banned substances in his system during a drug test given to him by the Nevada Athletic Commission recently.
Instead of trying to fight the decision, which he stated on Tuesday he would do, Sonnen put an end to his fighting career. He and his new wife are expecting their first child, and he is likely to remain a vital part of FOX Sports’ MMA programming moving forward.
Sonnen admitted during the segment that he takes complete fault for the failed drug test, and also put plenty of praise on Silva, calling him “the single-most important opponent I’ve ever had.”
“I couldn’t have gotten to where I am without this dance partner,” Sonnen said. “That is you, Anderson Silva. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the invitation to the barbeque, even though I didn’t take you up on it.”
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Partial Credit to Raj Jiri
– Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp confirmed reports that Cris Cyborg wants to compete at 135 pounds, bettering her chance at signing with the UFC and facing off against long-time rival Ronda Rousey. Cyborg has fought most of her career at 145 pounds.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to her, but definitely she has expressed that she wants to go down to 135 and she wants a shot at making her way over there to compete against Ronda,” said Knapp, during an interview with MMAFighting.com.
Recently, Invicta FC signed a deal with the UFC to air upcoming events on UFC Fight Pass. The next card is expected to take place this summer, and could feature Cyborg on it. The 28-year-old Cyborg improved to 12-1 in her career with a TKO victory over Marloes Coenen last July, earning the Invicta featherweight title.
– UFC president Dana White decided there would be no second chance for Jason High to redeem himself after shoving an official at UFC Fight Night 42 recently. The boss cut High, explaining his reason behind doing so during an interview with UFC.com.
“What I did find out is that I guess that Jason High kid got up and pushed a referee – he’s cut,” White said in disgust. “I’m going to cut him. I look at that the way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever (expletive) touch a referee, ever. You’re done here. He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”
Daley as cut and has yet to be asked back after landing a punch to Josh Koscheck well after the final whistle sounded to end their match. High had won two straight before deciding to drop down in weight and face Rafael dos Anjos.
– Vitor Belfort will not receive a surprise last-minute replacement opponent for UFC 175, according to a report by MMAjunkie.com. It was previously reported that “The Phenom” could remain on the July card, but his name has since been taken off a list of scheduled license discussions for an upcoming Nevada Athletic Commission hearing.
Belfort, who had previously tested for elevated levels of testosterone, will still need to appear before the NAC to obtain his fight license. He is expected to challenge the winner of Chris Weidman-Lyoto Machida for the UFC middleweight belt later this year.
Belfort had been tabbed to replace Wanderlei Silva and face Chael Sonnen, but Sonnen also failed a pre-fight drug test. He has since announced his retirement from MMA.
– A special behind-the-scenes look at Brittney Palmer’s recent photo shoot for her 2015 calendar has been released, which you can see in the video above. Palmer, one of a handful of UFC Octagon girls, gets down to nearly nothing for the shoot. Palmer has previously appeared on the cover of Playboy and can be seen on a regular basis working the Octagon during UFC events.
