For most of the 2010 year, Chael Sonnen has dominated the MMA headlines thanks to his gift of gab and his in-ring domination of the presumed pound-for-pound top fighter on the entire planet. His self-promoting, outspoken promos have provided each of us with a few eye-rolls and a few laughs. Just when it seemed like Chael Sonnen was on top of the world and that nothing could shut him up, today the California State Athletic Commission has done just that.

Sherdog.com was the first to report that Chael Sonnen failed the post-fight drug screening following his pure domination of Middleweight Champ, Anderson Silva. CASC Executive Officer George Dodd stated that Sonnen received notice of his failed test on Friday. It is unknown exactly what substance triggered the red-flag for Sonnen, but Dodd did say that that Sonnen passed the drugs-of-abuse tests. Since he passed the drugs-of-abuse test (the cocaine’s, marijuana’s, ect), that tells us that the test that Sonnen did fail was the performance-enhancing drug portion of the test.

So far, Sonnen’s trap is locked shut. He is yet to respond or to release any statement. An educated guess would be that he says something regarding this shortly now that the news has been officially released. Unless he successfully appeals, which isn’t likely, Sonnen is now facing some stiff fines and a long suspension. The last time there was a major banned-substance suspension, it involved both Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca following their UFC 73 Lightweight Title Match. Both competitors tested positive for PEDs. Both men were suspended for one year (though, Sherk appealed and has his reduced to 6 months) and faced fines.

Should Sonnen choose to appeal the positive tests instead of simply accepting the punishment, the process will be lengthy. Sonnen would first deny the allegations and formally appeal. A hearing would then be scheduled. A California attorney will lay out the case against Sonnen and then Sonnen will have the chance to respond. A decision would then be made afterwards.

In the eyes of many fans, the signs of a steroid use by Sonnen prior to the UFC 117 bout were already assumed. Many fans pointed out the massive amounts of acne on the back of Sonnen during the weigh-ins in the photo shown here: http://mmajunkie.com/dyn/images/fighters/chael-sonnen-ufc-117-back-lesions.jpg. Sure, acne can come anywhere at any time, but it’s a major sign for steroid users.

Nate Marquardt has already taken to his Twitter account to defend Sonnen. The tweets read, “Ok so sounds like it’s confirmed that Sonnen failed drug test when he fought Silva. Apparently he was taking meds 4 flu n that made positive. And also these websites post stuff that’s not true or confirmed sometimes. We will have to see. Time will tell.”

“If (the positive PED test) is true, I feel really bad for him,” said Ed Soares, Anderson Silva’s manager. “I know he did it to himself but it is really sad, he put on such a great performance that night. It is just a shame it will be tarnished.”

This comes at a terrible time in the career of Chael Sonnen. After a 3 fight win streak which started in May of 2009 that saw Sonnen defeat the likes of Dan Miller, Yushin Okami, and Nate Marquardt, Sonnen manhandled Anderson Silva for 5 rounds before submitting to an out-of-nowhere armbar triangle choke. Sure, Sonnen lost, but Sonnen was very much the victor. He had very much won the battle, but lost the war. He backed up his months of trash-talk and showed that Anderson Silva was, indeed, beatable. His near-victory had already earned him an immediate rematch which was tentatively scheduled for February 6, 2011 in Las Vegas. Presumably, that match will now be scrapped. Sonnen’s destruction of Silva will now be tainted and PED-fueled in the eyes of just about every fan worldwide.

Sonnen was just in the news again this week for providing more Sonnen-esque quotes during a UFC Fight Night Q&A session. During the Q&A, he trashed the likes of Brock Lesnar, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Georges St-Pierre, Wanderlei Silva, and, of course, Anderson Silva.

Sonnen brief legacy seems to have come to an abrupt end. Sonnen spent much of the last year on top of the world, but it’s safe to say he has now been knocked back down to reality. He spent many hours and used many words to abuse the best MMA fighters in the world. But, on this day, it took merely one word to shut up Chael Sonnen.

Steroids.

Check out more of Brett’s writings on WrestleChat.net.

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Eric G. Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business. More Posts - Website Follow Me:

