Chael Sonnen has failed multiple drug tests, which led to him being released from his broadcasting duties and being suspended for 2 years. Grappling of course, isn't regulated by the same athletic commissions, so technically Sonnen should be able to compete in Metamoris despite testing positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs. The final decision is on the organization's officials, and according to Ralek Gracie, he is pushing through with that match against Andre Galvao.
He spoke to Inside MMA about it and here's why he's allowing Sonnen to compete:
From an old-school perspective, EPO, that's something I haven't looked into as much, but with steroids for us in jiujitsu, if you're using a lot of steroids, you're going to run out of strength, and run out of energy faster.
Maybe if you're doing a weight lifting competition, or if you're doing a fight with 5 minute rounds, or two 2-minute rounds, and you're just going in there and let it go, then take a 30 second or 1 minute break or whatever. But in Jiujitsu and the 20-minute rounds in Metamoris, my stance for the most part is to just see how these guys get in there and see what they have to offer.
As for EPO being a boost for endurance... It's messed up. We have to look into that. As a new organization, we're trying to get as much as we can and trying to get as much exciting fights together as possible and it's a lot of work. A lot of people are giving us trouble, but people just want to see this interesting match up.
The problem with his statement though, is that saying those PEDs will compromise your endurance just isn't true. The various banned substances nowadays aren't going to add power at the expense of your cardio, they can really help in every athletic aspect whether it's to help your strength, endurance, metabolism, or recovery time during training.
Related: Steroids from A to Z, and how they work to improve athletic performance
That being said, this is grappling and not MMA. Allowing 'roided' up competitors wouldn't be as dangerous to their opponents in BJJ as it is in other combat sports, because the absence of striking gives a lower risk for brain trauma.
Plus, there's a fact that Sonnen is going up against one of the greatest grapplers in this era, and would be considered a huge underdog regardless of what is in his system. Ralek also alluded to this during the interview:
Everybody knows in our community, that Chael is up against a huge opponent. Let's see what he can do against Galvao. If he survives, he's (already) considered the winner. It's not a title on the line. Chael is probably on the way out as everybody says, but let's see what he can do and if he can do something exciting.
Sonnen vs. Galvao will headline Metamoris 4 on August 9, and will also feature a match between Josh Barnett and Dean Lister.