When you’re a controversial figure with a checkered past, things aren’t always going to be easy. Just ask Chael Sonnen, who is currently facing an uphill battle in his efforts to get a license to fight in the state of Massachusetts for next week’s UFC Fight Night 27. Not only is Mr. Sonnen’s use of the much-debated testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) at issue, but now a groups is lobbying to have his licensing denied due to both his history and – in one case – a vendetta against his employers.
Chael Sonnen’s licensing fate for UFC Fight Night 27 to be decided today
The Massachusetts State Boxing Commission, prior to this month, has never had a policy regarding TRT usage. This would have been fine, had the culinary union, Unite Here local 226, not filed a complaint regarding Chael’s usage of the controversial treatment, amongst other things. Due to this complaint, the state’s Department of Public Safety, which oversees the boxing commission, felt it necessary to hold an additional hearing to determine what what would be allowable. DPS spokesman Terrel Harris told MMA Junkie the following,
“The executive session is to determine what acceptable levels of testosterone are for people who have a medical reason for testosterone supplements.”
Sonnen has tested positively for elevated testosterone once in the past. In 2010, after his first bout with Anderson Silva, Chael’s testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio test results were an inhuman 16:9, and he was suspended for 6 months after being unable to provide the California State Athletic Commission with sufficient documentation of his prescription for TRT. Since that time, Sonnen has received a therapeutic use exemption (TRU) for every of his fights.
This is not the only angle that Unite Here 226 is using to try and bar “The Gangster from West Lynn” from competing on August 17th. The union, is saying that Chael’s 2011 conviction on charges of money laundering should also preclude him from competing in the Massachusetts as it is a “crime of moral turpitude.” Sonnen has already served his sentence though, and athletic commissions around the US have already seen fit to give him license despite any potential issues with moral character. That, however, may not be enough for the MSBC to follow through and give him his license to fight.
It is unfortunate that a union has gone beyond its roles of protecting its employees from mistreatment and bargaining on their behalf to trying to prevent fighters like Chael Sonnen from plying their trade. Unite Here has been attached to several efforts around shows and in state legislatures, notably New York’s, to hinder the UFC. This is due to an issue they have with the Fertita brothers, majority owners of Zuffa, keeping them from organizing the culinary workers in their casinos. At this point, it seems like a waste of their members’ dues to pursue the Ultimate Fighting Championships in an attempt to bring down a separate enterprise simply for being owned by a group they’re having issues with in another business. Sadly, that is exactly what’s going on, and Sonnen is having to deal with the brunt of it this week. We can only hope that the MSBC will do the right thing and provide Chael with his TUE – provided he is within accepted levels – and his license to fight.
