Sonnen fails drug test, off of UFC 175

http://www.mmamania.com/2014/6/10/5...ls-drug-test-pulled-from-ufc-175-in-las-vegas



File this one under "disaster."

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight and part-time light heavyweight Chael Sonnen has failed a random drug test and as a result, has been pulled from his upcoming fight at the UFC 175 pay-per-view (PPV) event on July 5, 2014, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ESPN.com brought word of the change on Tuesday.

The test was administered by Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) last month when "The American Gangster" was in town for his UFC 175 press conference, and returned traces of Anastrozole and Clomiphene. The former is used to treat early stages of breast cancer, according to the report, while the latter is often prescribed in cases of female infertility.

Sonnen is expected to issue a statement later today and will not appeal the findings.

What is particularly troubling about Sonnen's slip-up is that he now becomes the third fighter assigned to the "Weidman vs. Machida" mixed martial arts (MMA) event to run afoul of NSAC. Vitor Belfort failed his surprise drug test back in February (more on that here) while Wanderlei Silva chose to flee the premises instead of handing over a cup of Brazilian lemonade.

It should be noted that Sonnen also failed a post-fight drug test following his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

Sonnen was forced to give up testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) earlier this year after Belfort's run-in with the commission caused a statewide ban (details). The FOX Sports analyst initially considered hanging up the gloves, but reconsidered after embarking on a new training regimen without the controversial treatment.

Where he goes from here, remains to be seen.





TFK

 

Drugs like clomid and arimidex are used to attempt to restore natural testosterone production after a steroid cycle. Or after TRT. TRT is meant to be a lifetime commitment. It's doubtful Chael would have gotten his old testosterone levels back with or without these drugs.

I don't think any of the fighters who were on TRT for years will be competitive again. Unless they cheat. I don't consider it to be cheating in this case. They apparently banned the drugs used to come off TRT at the same time they banned TRT.

Clomid and arimidex can be used as performance enhancers in some cases. A healthy athlete can more than double his testosterone levels with an AI (arimidex) and a SERM (clomid). That isn't what was happening here. Chael probably had clinically low testosterone even with these drugs.

 

Everyone's different. Some guys can stay on for years, come off with the right recovery drugs, and have adequate testosterone production in a few months. That's more common with younger guys. Most guys in their late 30s or older will never recover their old natural testosterone levels no matter how much time they have.

If I was Chael or Vitor, I'd stay on TRT and retire. It's not worth trying to come off.

 

My pity meter isn't moving off of E for Chael, but it does seem like exemptions for non-performance enhancing drugs that are medically necessary for previously cheating trt motherfrs to get back to normal would be appropriate.

 

A banned substance is a banned substance.

This is still a case of a guy trying to use a banned substance(s) to change what his body naturally does.

If his body has been hindered by TRT, tough fucking luck. Give up pro fighting and get back on the "medically necessary" TRT. (Smirk)

 

No surprise here, Sonnen is a proven cheater and a con artist. And unlike others like Belfort, his fights are excruciatingly boring so he has to sell himself a la WWE. Good riddance.

 

These guys are hilarious, you would think if this guy had such a debilitating disease he would keep using it and retire...guess it wasn't so bad after all.

 

Spot on.

This guy was up there crying and throwing a fit about how insecure he was about his balls and all this nonsense.....now suddenly his testosterone program...which literally is just a cocktail of anabolic steroids is taken away and he "needs" drugs to get off them.

 

wrong on both points

 

At this point in his career, Sonnen is much better at talking about fights than he is at actually fighting in them.

He's never gonna be champion, and he's never gonna fight at an elite level. He is excellent when he is behind the desk and as a spokesman for the UFC. I see no reason for him to ever fight again.

TFK

 

I'm not an expert but both are supposed to boost testosterone production. Wouldn't that be '"performance enhancing"?

 

That's heart wrenching but not really the question . Are they performance enhancing or not?

If the drugs are vital and banned, then you shouldn't be a pro fighter.

 

Presumably, even if these drugs are necessary to get off of trt, you can still keep your testosterone levels well under the too-high limit.

If that's not the case, then they would be performance-enhancing and there is a simple resolution--you don't fight until you have kept your testosterone levels at a normal level long enough to minimize the benefits of your prior cheating.

 

They can be performance enhancing for healthy men, boosting their natural test levels. I don't think that's the case here. If I had to guess, I'd say they could raise Chael's testosterone levels from practically zero to near the bottom of the normal range. He's fucked as a high level professional fighter either way.

 

Only for normal men? So these drugs would not enhance Sonnen beyond where he would naturally be at this point?

 

What? If they improve his testosterone production AT ALL they are enhancing him beyond where he'd naturally be right now.

Right? Or am I reading the info wrong? Do these drug increase testosterone production or not?

 

Chael retired.

Good for him.


TFK

 

Ok. So as I said, he was taking banned drugs that increase testosterone production.

Glad he retired. Anyone that requires a testosterone boost to compete should follow his lead.