According to UFC President Dana White, Chael Sonnen Should Be Cut and Lose All Bonuses for UFC 117

(reposted in full from WatchKalibRun)

As most of you are aware, Chael Sonnen failed his UFC 117 drug test with an elevated amount of testosterone and an abnormal ratio. Sonnen's mouth and performance earned him an immediate rematch with Anderson Silva despite tapping out to a triangle choke. That title match appears to be in jeopardy as Sonnen is subject to a one-year suspension as well as a fine. While Sonnen hasn't officially spoken, it was revealed that he plans on appealing the failed test.

Dana White from the Las Vegas Review Journal:

"It's a huge blow, a devastating blow. The bottom line is, we invest a lot of money in our fighters trying to promote them and build them. We're building a brand and when something like this happens, it's devastating. It's a huge black eye for our sport."

"This doesn't do us any good, and we're not condoning it at all, but the point is, it's epidemic throughout professional sports. It's rampant. It's a very hard problem to contain, but we're trying to control it by letting the fighters know we won't use them if they do this."

"Bottom line, guys have to learn to play by the rules, or they're done with us."

According to Dana White, fighters that don't follow the rules won't be used. Of course, this interview was given back in 2004 and was following Kimo Leopoldo's negative test. Now you might say, "Why did you post quotes from 2004?" Good question. That's because the problem of PEDs in MMA has grown since 2004 and yet the President of the UFC's current position seems to be softening. According to this interview, Chael Sonnen SHOULD be cut and not brought back to the UFC. History shows us that fighters have been brought back after failed tests. Sean Sherk, Stephan Bonnar, Chris Leben and Karo Parisyan are just a few in a nice list of fighters who have failed commission drug tests in the last few years.

Dana White from ESPN the Magazine:

ESPN The Magazine: Overall, what is your reaction to the [alleged] failed tests?
Dana White: Everybody knows our position on steroids. We invest a lot of money in these guys, then they get caught doing something stupid. It's going to happen. It's so hard to deal with. Should I call everybody every day and say, 'Don't snort cocaine, don't smoke heroin, don't kill anybody, don't drink and drive, don't do steroids'? It's common sense. Steroids are illegal. If you get caught by the athletic commission, you're getting suspended and fined and you'll never be looked at the same way again.

ESPN The Magazine: What changes do you plan to make?
White: Moving forward, I am putting the bitch slap on guys who get caught using steroids from here on out. The fighters make a lot of money. I have all these nickel-and-dimers starting up leagues, and they don't steal fighters from me. There are a lot of morons out there throwing money around, and nobody's leaving me. When what you're selling is human beings competing against each other, there are always going to be issues, man. Personal problems. Contract issues. There are always problems.

ESPN The Magazine: But what is the punishment? What are you going to do?
White: They're not going to get paid. I take care of all of my guys. If you fight your ass off for me, you'll get paid. But what I'm going to do is: I'm going to wait and see if they pass their drug tests. If they don't, you're going to get paid what's in your contract and that's it.

This interview takes place exactly 3 years later from the previous one and exactly 3 years ago from today. White's stance has softened a little but he provides more information. He states that he'll "never look at a fighter the same way again". Using his words, Chael Sonnen (who should be cut according to 2004 Dana) won't be looked at with the same eyes which means his title shot should be eliminated. History again shows us different; Sean Sherk was suspended by the CSAC and was given a shot at the title he was stripped of as soon as he came back.

Curiouser is Dana's words that fighters who don't pass their tests will not get their bonuses (SoTN, FoTN, KoTN and Uncle Dana Magic Happy Fun Bonuses). Sonnen was a part of the UFC 117 "Fight of the Night" which would've earned him 60K extra dollars on top of his salary. Sonnen was almost assuredly (if the Uncle Dana Magic Super Happy Fun Bonus are as prevalent as people like to claim) a recipient of a UDMSHFB, both bonuses SHOULD now be returned, again, according to Dana White of 2007.

Dana White from Yahoo Sports

"When one of them fails a test, the government is going to fine them and suspend them and tell them they can’t make a living for a year. So should I come in after they’ve already lost the ability to make a living for a year and been fined all this money and, in the worst economic disaster in the history of the world, fine them another huge amount and take away their ability to make a living even longer?

"These are guys with homes and families and personal lives and bills and debts and obligations, just like me and you," White said. "After they lost all this money already, money that, A, they’ve probably already spent and B, which they owe taxes, do I fine them another huge amount? What else do you do to a human being?"

2010 Dana White is a whole different animal. Now he's a humanitarian, now he's affable. He's concerned about the well-being of cheating fighters who harm the greater reputation of the sport. Hey Dana White, guess what? They cheated. They knowingly tried to get an advantage. Forget "Should PEDs be legal?", forget "99% of MMA fighters use them", that's not the issue. The issue is compliance with the rules and regulations.

Where is this humanitarianism when fighters are cut? Let's look at Todd Duffee a recent guy released by the UFC. A fighter who was lamenting online about not having money. He's got a home, he's got a family with a personal life and plenty of bills. Where was this concern for him? What rules did he break? Yet, you have sympathy for someone who cheats? Paul Daley swung at Josh Koscheck after their fight and he was cut. I agree with the cut, but using 2010 Dana White's logic, he shouldn't have been cut. The commission fined and suspended him, this is the "worst economic disaster in the history of the world", why would you take away his living Dana White? Dana White would not be happy.

The UFC tries to claim hey want to be accepted as "mainstream". Well if you want to play with the big boys, you have to grow up. Say what you want about the testing policies of the NFL, NBA, and MLB, but when it's time to dole out punishment, there's no half-stepping. The UFC needs to be proactive and not fall back on feeble excuses like the quote above from 2010 Dana White. You want to combat PEDs have it written into your Draconian contracts that if you fail a PED test, you forfeit your purse for that fight as well as all bonuses. You also must get monitored with monthly drug tests to establish normal testosterone level as well as T/E ratio. You want to really prevent PED usage in your company, you have it written in to the contracts that a fighter will get cut, no matter what, for a failed test. There are plenty of measures you can take if it is truly your goal. It's funny to see how White stance over the years has gotten softer and softer as the UFC revenue has gotten larger and larger.

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(Writer's Note: The purpose of this story was to show how Dana White's stance on steroids has softoned while the problem of PEDs has gotten bigger. The comparison of the UFC "half-steppin" while other leagues do not is in regards to "sympathy shown" to cheaters. You don't hear Roger Goodall concerned about a cheater's right to earn. David Stern or the MLB commission either. This is not about their testing policies because they have to deal with unions. The UFC is a private company and can punish users much further. In fact, it would help public perception if the UFC could say "We go above what the government recommends".)