Second return to UFC Chael Sonnen

1 second return ufc

1.1 silva vs sonnen ii
1.2 return light heavyweight
1.3 ultimate fighter: brazil 3, failed drug tests, termination , retirement

second return ufc

after suspension, sonnen returned ufc on october 8, 2011, defeating brian stann second round arm triangle choke @ ufc 136.

sonnen expected face mark muñoz on january @ ufc on fox 2, muñoz injured , replaced michael bisping. sonnen awarded unanimous decision victory after 3 rounds.

silva vs sonnen ii

a rematch anderson silva scheduled ufc 147, bout moved ufc 148 on july 7, 2012, after scheduling conflict un conference on sustainable development forced ufc 147 smaller venue. fight considered many analysts , several major media outlets highly anticipated bout in ufc history.

as fight took place, sonnen took champion down in first round , maintained dominant position throughout, gaining full mount while attacking ground-and-pound. 1 cageside judge scored 10-8 round silva credited 0 strikes. sonnen connected 76 strikes top position in opening round, , held 22-to-15 edge in significant strikes against silva. however, sonnen unable inflict damage champion, , silva stopped sonnen knee strike , punches tko @ 1:55 of second round, after sonnen failed connect spinning elbow strike , tripped.

return light heavyweight

on august 14, 2012, on ufc tonight, sonnen announced face forrest griffin in light heavyweight rematch on december 29, 2012, @ ufc 155. rematch griffin scrapped after sonnen tabbed coach ultimate fighter 17 against light heavyweight champion jon jones.

a bout between sonnen , jones ufc light heavyweight championship took place on april 27, 2013, @ ufc 159. sonnen accepted fight jon jones title @ ufc 151, after jones original challenger dan henderson injured, jones declined. fighters upset title opportunity because sonnen, arguably legendary talker in ufc history , has not fought bout since returning light heavyweight division. dana white defended matchup, saying sonnen willing fly on las vegas fight jones on same day , while other contenders maurício rua , lyoto machida turned offer down.

jon jones showed lack of interest in fight , downplayed contest, making clear not believe sonnen fit contender. in interview, sonnen did best hype interest jones gave him silent treatment , refusing make eye contact. jones dispatched challenger using sonnen s own style defeat him via tko in first round. despite beatdown, sonnen 27 seconds away winning title, later discovered that, while defending takedown, jones suffered serious toe injury have resulted in doctor s stoppage tko loss if bout continued second round.

sonnen expected face maurício rua on june 15, 2013, @ ufc 161, replacing antônio rogério nogueira pulled out of bout citing injury. though alleged visa issue created problem sonnen canada, resulting in rua being pulled event altogether. bout rua took place on august 17, 2013, @ ufc fight night 26. sonnen won via guillotine choke submission in first round.

sonnen faced rashad evans on november 16, 2013, @ ufc 167. lost fight via tko in first round.

the ultimate fighter: brazil 3, failed drug tests, termination , retirement

on october 22, 2013, announced sonnen coaching ultimate fighter: brazil 3, against long-time rival wanderlei silva. bout silva, briefly attached ufc 173, @ ultimate fighter: brazil 3 finale, expected take place on july 5, 2014, @ ufc 175. dana white later stated fight had rescheduled because silva injured hand brawl sonnen took place during filming of show. silva pulled fight entirely after failed submit application fight in state of nevada, refusal undergo random drug test , replaced vitor belfort. however, sonnen subsequently failed random drug test , removed bout.

following controversy of second failed drug test, sonnen announced on june 11, 2014, episode of ufc tonight retirement mma competition.

subsequent retirement, revealed on june 28, 2014, nsac sonnen had failed second random drug test – third failed drug test throughout mma career – due presence of human growth hormone (hgh), recombinant human erythropoietin (epo), anastrozole, , human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg).

on june 30, 2014, ufc , fox sports announced had terminated sonnen s contract ufc analyst due multiple failed drug tests. on july 23, 2014, nsac ruled sonnen suspended 2 years martial arts competition worldwide due multiple failed drugs tests.