One Man’s View: Neither Choir Boy Nor Devil

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When Chael Sonnen returns against Brian Stann at UFC 136 on Oct. 8, the fight game’s most polarizing figure will bring unrivaled promotional possibilities and plotlines into the cage with him.

In Stann, however, the normally irascible and contempt-spewing Sonnen does not have an easy target. There will likely be no mean-spirited potshots about Stann’s background -- Naval Academy graduate, United States Marine Corps Captain -- as Sonnen issued against middleweight champion Anderson Silva before UFC 117. Stann was awarded the Silver Star for his combat actions in Iraq, hardly anything even a veteran baiter like Sonnen would be tempted to prod in the pre-fight buildup.

Or so I assumed. I asked Sonnen that same question in a recent interview. Could he possibly delve into the old routine given Stann’s squeaky-clean, iconic image?

“Stann is the man. He’s one hell of a patriot,” replied Sonnen. “That guy makes apple pie look like an Israeli dish.”

So will we see a kinder, gentler Sonnen?

“I wouldn’t count on it,” he said.

Sonnen remains the sole middleweight in the UFC with the stylistic mojo to be perceived as a credible threat to Silva, and he would be happy to tell anyone who’d listen. However, parallel storylines surrounding the former title challenger delve into the complex issue of Testosterone Replacement Therapy and how it should be managed by state athletic commissions. Unwillingly or not, Sonnen is one of the first major fighters to be foisted up under what will ultimately be a microscope placed on many MMA competitors undergoing that same treatment.

The fact that he has had past conflicts with two major state commissions over the timing and nature of how he did or did not disclose his ongoing TRT therapy is an additional challenge. While Sonnen is one win away from returning as the UFC’s Golden Boy/Enfant Terrible slot, the major commissions in the sport, Nevada and California, remain hurdles he will have to clear in terms of licensing. His UFC 136 bout with Stann will be held in Texas, where, like virtually everything else in the Lone Star State, regulations are far more lax and he will not have to deal with a closely monitored oversight of his TRT therapy. California and Nevada offer no such easy roads.

At the end of the day, market demand always helps a fighter’s case. Money talks, and in a barren middleweight division where Silva has made eight title defenses and gone unbeaten in 13 bouts, both UFC records, the champion’s Secretariat-like showing against everyone but Sonnen only makes Silva-Sonnen 2 that much more desirable.

Sinking home a stunning submission in the fifth round of a bout in which he was hopelessly behind, Silva’s first encounter with Sonnen provided a rare glimpse of vulnerability for “The Spider.” His performances usually consist of him blowing out opponents with highlight-reel moves or dreadful showings because the challenger becomes too vexed to engage, with Silva curiously acceding to that agreement.

Great artists can become bored at times, but Sonnen’s wrestler-grinder style ensures Silva would not have that option. Throw in the endless abuse heaped upon Silva by Sonnen via press conferences, interviews and Twitter, and there’s nobody remotely into MMA that would not want to see the rematch. Featuring foes diametrically opposed in style, background and personality, Sonnen-Silva 2 is the inevitable middleweight super fight on the platter. It can’t not happen, unless Stann upsets Sonnen, thereby moving him somewhere into the rarified air of “a guy who might actually compete with Silva.”

The 36-year-old Silva defends his title Aug. 27 at UFC 134 against Yushin Okami, which should only further the case that Sonnen deserves next, provided he can get past the rapidly-improving Stann. Okami has little standup, will not be much of a submission threat and has essentially gotten the shot by staying in the upper-five tier of 185-pound contenders, often via numbing decision. Okami was also dominated in a one-sided decision drubbing by Sonnen in 2009.

In other words, the limited sphere of what Okami does -- wrestle, hold the guy down, rinse and repeat -- was not good enough to beat Sonnen and is not likely to amount to much against Silva. Held in Brazil, UFC 134 will be more of a homecoming for Silva, who has not fought in his homeland since 2003, back when MMA was a niche curiosity and far from being a mainstream sport. It’s akin to a non-conference game for the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

You can see what the Silva-Sonnen 2 excitement is about. Take a look at the latest Sherdog.com middleweight rankings and name anyone else remotely close to generating the interest of Sonnen getting the next title shot.

Sonnen’s public image has taken a battering in recent months. In January, he pled guilty to a felony money laundering charge and was subsequently fined $10,000 and placed on two years’ probation. In addition, various dust-ups with the California State Athletic Commission -- stemming back to the night of the Silva bout in August, when he told commission officials he was undergoing TRT therapy the day of the fight -- have created considerable fallout for him in regards to getting re-licensed there and in Nevada, which honored his CSAC-imposed suspension.

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