Dana White: Sonnen's Situation with the CSAC Is “Insane, Unjust, Unfair"

Make no mistake about it: UFC President Dana White is disgusted with the way the California State Athletic Commission is handling Chael Sonnen’s license suspension case.

According to a report on Bloody Elbow, White called the CSAC’s decision to indefinitely suspend Sonnen’s license last week "incredibly, amazingly unfair,” also adding “I think it’s horrible.”

White has recently confirmed that an ideal world, he wanted Sonnen and fellow UFC middleweight Michael Bisping coach opposite one another on season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

As tradition goes, the two head coaches would square off at the conclusion of the season.  White also confirmed that this would have been a number one contender fight, with the winner getting a crack at reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

In order to accept the coaching spot at this point Sonnen would need to get a second’s (cornerman’s) license from the CSAC by June 5. 

Given the fact that Sonnen’s California fighter’s license has been suspended until June 29, this transaction looks like an impossibility. 

White cited boxing precedents as the reason why he was so upset with the harsh punishments Sonnen has had to endure so far:

“Listen, we've run toward regulation," White said. "I'm all about athletic commissions and always do whatever I'm told by the athletic commissions. But I think what happened to Chael Sonnen was above and beyond what would normally happen in boxing.”

White mentioned the fact that light middleweight boxer Antonio Margarito suffered a year-long suspension from the CSAC after it was discovered that his gloves contained a “plaster of Paris-like substance” during his July 2009 fight with Shane Mosley.

“If you look at boxing, man? There's been situations where guys have put weapons inside their hands and fought another human being. There have been instances where people have assaulted other people in the ring.”

Additionally, the UFC President implied that Sonnen has not been treated fairly for his wrongdoing.

"When somebody does something wrong, they drag them in and hand out the punishment," White said. "And once that punishment has been handed out, the guy serves his sentence and moves on.”

When/if future hall of fame boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is ready to fight again; White is 100 percentconfident that he will be licensed immediately, despite his numerous run-ins with the law.

"Let me ask you a question," White said. "Floyd Mayweather's been running around town punching everybody in the face—threatening people and doing all this stuff. You watch how fast Floyd Mayweather gets licensed."

White reiterated why this subject of Chael Sonnen has him up in arms these days, even though he openly admitted that Sonnen was in the wrong.

"When guys get in trouble, if you're dumb enough to do something to get in trouble, you've got to face the consequences. You've got to man up and take your punishment.”

“This guy did some dumb stuff. He manned up, and he was punished. He took it on the chin. Once that sentence is over, it's over,” White clarified.

White seemed to be seething when he again rationalized that a boxer has never been unjustly punished to this degree.

"Some of the things that [boxers have] done and some of the things that they've said—publicly and everything else—and look at some of the sentences that were imposed on them. You guys want to do some reporting? Report on that."

The public perception shared by certain fans and critics that Chael Sonnen’s situation is solely due to his mistakes is not looking at the situation from an unbiased perspective, at least as far as Dana White is concerned:

"Chael Sonnen's got a big mouth," he said. "Chael Sonnen says a lot of dumb [expletive]. Whatever. Chael Sonnen served his sentence. When you get to the point where a guy serves his sentence and now you're stopping the guy – his ability to make a living?”

White said in all likelihood, it is not like Sonnen has the drawing power “Chuck Liddell in his prime, or Brock Lesnar, or Cain Velasquez “since Chael Sonnen can fight or Chael Sonnen could ride off into the wind tomorrow. My business has to move on. It is what it is.”

Nevertheless, White concluded by saying “I'm just speaking here today as a person saying I think what happened to Chael Sonnen is absolutely insane. It's unjust. It's unfair."