Money Issues Aside, Will Chael Sonnen Face Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128?

It's funny, the whirlwind career you can have as a member of any MMA weight division.

One minute you could be facing one of the toughest guys that the champ has ever faced in a defense, and then the next you could be the guy who becomes the toughest challenger the champ's ever faced.

A Hail Mary submission hold, or a downright robbery by the judges, are your only two ways to lose when you almost beat the champ by Unanimous Decision, and you only lose because you do what appears to be the "Brazilian tap" after getting caught in a very weird Triangle Arm Bar.

From there your star soars pretty high, and you're on your way to proving that you can beat the champ one more time... but then you test positive for elevated levels of testosterone.

Your rematch goes down under and you have to attend a hearing about the testosterone deal before you get back in the cage at all.

What else could go wrong?

Well, if you're Chael Sonnen, you could be involved in a money laundering case that involves a few other people and mortgage fraud.

For those of you who don't know, money laundering is basically any financial transaction made with the purpose of camouflaging it's source or identity.

It used to apply to organized crime rings, who partook in such transactions to hide the fact of them obtaining the cash through criminal means, but the same idea applies in Sonnen's case as well.

Long story short, Fanhouse MMA reported yesterday evening that Sonnen did indeed plead guilty of Money Laundering and could face up to 20 years in prison for his actions.

MMA Junkie reported something that fans may or may not feel is what sucks the most about Sonnen's ordeal.

What sucks more about it, you ask?

The sentence comes ten days after UFC 128 in Newark, New Jersey -- ten days after Sonnen was finally set to make his return to action against three-time Fight Of The Night winner Yoshihiro Akiyama.