On the same day that it was announced Chael Sonnen would make his return at UFC 128 in March, he plead guilty to federal charges of money laundering. USA Today (via The Oregonian) reports that Sonnen will receive 2 years probation and a $10,000 fine. The least of the penalties, Sonnen will be stripped of his realtor’s license.
Sonnen’s charge results from his work as a real estate agent in Oregon. The Fight Lawyer has the legalese here. The press release from the US Attorney is here. According to the press release, a maximum charge carries a 20 year sentence and a $500K fine. Sonnen alluded to this issue in his post-CSAC appeal hearing interview with Mike Straka. It also was a reason he pulled out of a race for a seat in the Oregon state senate.
Payout Perspective:
What a difference a couple months make. Sonnen’s career was flying high as the brash talking middleweight putting on a one-man promo show prior to his fight with Anderson Silva. After dominating 4+ rounds against Silva, only to be caught in a submission, a rematch was bound to happen. But, Sonnen failed a steroid test, was suspended and now is charged with mortgage fraud. Although it looks like he will not serve any jail time, this is bad publicity for Sonnen.
But just how bad? According to ESPN’s Joss Gross, the UFC does not have a NFL-type player conduct policy where it would punish a fighter if they get in trouble with the law. Unlike most sports stars that get in trouble, Sonnen’s crime did not involve drinking and driving or physical violence. It involved a shady real estate transaction. Will the UFC address his legal problems? Fight Opinion tweeted asking whether Sonnen’s fight against Yoshihiro Akiyamashould take place. Due to the nature of his crime, most fans will not care about Sonnen’s legal troubles. After the Silva fight, he has name recognition and will draw fans (and PPV buys).
But, the latest issue torpedos any credibility Sonnen has with the MMA community. Although he had an explanation for his failed drug test, he cannot explain away this. Sonnen always appears confident and willing to give his opinion in front of a microphone and/or camera. It will be interesting to see how he decides to handle this new problem. Does the latest problem affect Sonnen in getting sponsors? Has he destroyed business opportunities outside of MMA? Does the UFC mute Sonnen’s ability to sell fights due to his latest legal issue?
Doubt his legal troubles will matter to most MMA fans, they will just remember him as the one who almost beat Anderson Silva. Most likely it will only be hardcore fans who will even read about this, and hardcore fans are even less likely to care about this particular situation than casual ones As a self-professed “hardcore” fan, I don’t care, I just want to see him earn a rematch with Silva to see if he could pull it off a second time. It’s not that I don’t think fraud is wrong, it’s just that it has nothing to do with whether or not he is one of the best middleweight MMA fighters in the world. It would take a much worse transgression for me to not want to watch an athlete compete out of mere disgust for their personal conduct (see: Michael Vick). This was certainly a sheisty operation, but who is the victim? Why should it make me as a fan angry with Sonnen?
The UFC suspended him today – http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Report-Sonnen-Suspended-by-UFC-Following-Guilty-Plea-29186