Chael Sonnen: MMA Bad Boy to Return to Octagon at UFC 136 After Year-Long Hiatus

After nearly a year away from the Octagon, Chael Sonnen is finally set to return to the UFC circuit.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Sonnen (25-11-1), once the chief bad boy of the mixed martial arts world, will face off Martine veteran and rising middleweight star Brian Stann (11-3) at UFC 136 in Houston on October 8th, 2011.

Known for his use of Greco-Roman wrestling as well as boxing tactics in fights from his days as an All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, Sonnen has spent the last year embroiled in a series of scandals that have threatened both his professional and civil lives. He last appeared in a UFC fight last August, when he lost to middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117 in a bout that saw Sonnen maintain control for virtually the entire fight until Silva turned the tables with a Hail Mary triangle choke for the win.

Following that fight, Sonnen was suspended six months by the California State Athletic Commission when it was discovered that he had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in his blood. To make matters worse, Sonnen got himself mixed up in a money-laundering scandal while running in the Oregon state House of Representatives, a mistake that cost him 24 months of probation, $10,000 in fines and the forfeiture of his real estate license in Oregon.

Needless to say, Chael Sonnen has had himself a rough year. As such, Sonnen figures to be fired up to fight just about anybody, especially with a shot at a fight for the UFC middleweight title likely on the line.

Whether Sonnen will be in good enough shape to compete remains to be seen, though one would think that he's learned his lesson by now that fooling around, whether it be with banned substances or illegal funds, can backfire tremendously.

—Josh Martin

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