As noted, former UFC title contender and current Bellator MMA fighter Chael Sonnen recently appeared as a guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast for an in-depth interview.
During the show, Sonnen spoke with the longtime WWE Superstar about the legal side of Brock Lesnar potentially returning to the UFC after WrestleMania 34 tonight, specifically in terms of his issues with USADA after failing drug tests for his last UFC fight at UFC 200.
“He’s jammed up on that. I do not believe he can return to the UFC. He got popped and had to serve a year. To serve that year you have to stay in that pool. The last thing he wants is to be tested, particularly when he is not competing. He said that he was retired, so that took him out of the pool, but at the same time that stopped his suspension clock. So, let’s just say for math that he stayed for 4 months, he has a 12 month suspension, he stays for 4, great, when you want to come back you are going to serve your 8 months, and since you are a past offender you are going to give us 6 months of clean tests,” Sonnen said. “So, if Brock Lesnar comes back, and I don’t think Vince McMahon understands this, yes, having leverage in your negotiation is a good thing, as a matter of fact that is the only thing that helps during a negotiation, which is leverage. Dana White is more than willing to help him out on the off chance that Brock is serious. Dana White is a mark as well. The only real professional here is that if Brock were to come back, he’s going to have to sit for 14 months. You can’t sit and promote a guy that’s sitting for 14 months. Do you think Brock Lesnar is going to sit there and do nothing for 14 months? Not going to happen. If I’m not mistaken he is 40, 41 years old.”
Additionally, Sonnen spoke at length about CM Punk returning to the UFC for a second fight in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, when he fights Mike Jackson at UFC 225 at the Allstate Arena in June. The longtime MMA star spoke particularly about the reaction people within the industry, as well as fans, have had to Punk stepping back into the Octagon after the way his first fight went.
“Let’s start at the beginning here, because this part of the story never gets told. CM Punk is going to come to UFC and what is he going to do? He’s going to do what Brock Lesnar did. He’s going to come in, take all the main event spots and go on with all this money and laugh at the rest of us. Well, not so fast. He dropped CM Punk and brought him in as Phil Brooks. Second, he committed everything to this. He left professional wrestling. I understand he had a few reasons to leave, but he locked himself in a gem with a room filled with killers, amongst the best coach in Duke Roufus, with an awesome facility. He cuts the weights, he gets disciplined, he gets the walk. That is something people in all walks of life should be able to relate to. Here is a bucket list item. Here is a guy who has the ability to pursue his dream and he has the courage and the balls to do it with his shirt off in front of the entire world and be able to pull it off. That was a very cool thing that he did, instead of course people teased him,” he said. “He didn’t leave with all the money, he didn’t hold Dana White over a barrel. He really wanted to do this. He wanted to prove to people that he can do this and wasn’t going to hold Dana White over for more money. The first contract he was offered, he signed. His heart was in the right place, As a competitor he did everything right. Then, he loses, so what does he do? He locks himself in the gym again, he begs again for another opportunity and he gets it. Quite frankly, the song is not going to end any differently than the first one, but if people can’t get on board, see him around town, or talk to him on social media and tell him that it was a cool, ballsy thing that he did, then I have no idea what is wrong with them. That is the bottom line. He did everything right. He did everything respectful, and he did help the boys. There was a little bit of jealousy when he came in because he can get on shows that some of the other guys couldn’t. He had a lot of buzz around him. Why is he sitting at ESPN and I’m not? Because ESPN can get ratings with him.”
Check out the complete Chael Sonnen interview from Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast above.
