UFC 148 Results: Chael's Trainer 'Has a Feeling' Sonnen Is 'Done Fighting'

After Chael Sonnen was finished by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the second time at UFC 148, fans and analysts alike are left wondering what's next for the "American Gangster."

According to Sonnen's grappling coach leading up to the fight, Neil Melanson, the West Linn, Oregon native has fought his last fight. 

"You know, I don't know what Chael's plans are, but I got a feeling he's done fighting," Melanson said in an interview with The Verbal Submission (transcription via MMA Mania).

Melanson rationalized why he thought his gut feeling would become a reality.

"

Any time you're a part of training camp or you're friends with somebody and they lose, you just worry about them like, how are they gonna handle it mentally? Are they gonna come back from this?...I don't know, I've just got a feeling he's done. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he was serious when he said, 'If you beat me, I will leave forever,' and there's a very good chance of that.

"

The head grappling coach at Xtreme Couture, Melanson took over Sonnen's UFC 148 pre-fight training camp when Team Quest head coach Scott McQuary suffered a heart attack weeks ago.

Melanson goes on to speculate that Sonnen's passion for the sport will no longer be there since he came up short in his goal to be champion, noting that he may pursue a career in broadcasting. 

In all fairness, Sonnen's comments at the UFC 148 post-fight conference gave no indication he was mulling over retirement from the cage. 

"

You can't get down. You can't get depressed. Every single day you get up, you've got to make the most of it. I really believe that if you're going to be in this company [UFC], and take up a spot, you've got to be chasing a championship.... It's tough but, unfortunately, it's not my first athletic defeat. In this sport you have a 50 percent chance of failure. So you get out there and put in your mouthpiece and you do the best you can. You've got to man up sometimes.

"

Should Sonnen hang up the gloves and call it a career, or are there still plenty of entertaining fights the fans want to see him sign up for?