(Depending what happens on December 2, Sonnen might be back running for office sooner than expected)

According to MMAJunkie, we’ll finally get to see how good of a politician Chael Sonnen really is on December 2 when he attempts to talk his way out of a one-year suspension he was handed for allegedly testing positive for steroids following his UFC 117 fifth-round submission loss to Anderson Silva.

Sonnen will have his appeal heard that day by the California State Athletic Commission.

It will be interesting when the facts of the case come to light, considering all of the information that has been released to date, including an allegation by CSAC executive director, George Dodd that Sonnen prefaced his pre-fight drug screening with the disclaimer that "he may test positive for something." Whether or not this hearsay can be used as evidence will remain to be seen, since Chael has been known to deny conversations in the past. Maybe it was a Hispanic guy Dodd mistook for Sonnen.


UFC president, Dana White intimated in an interview last week that there is "a lot more to the story" than is being told and that it will be interesting to see what happens.

The last and possibly only fighter fighter who was accused of steroid use to take on CSAC and win (sort of) was former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, whose $2,500 fine was upheld, but his suspension time was cut in half to six months after he passed a polygraph test in which he stated that he did not knowingly ingest any anabolic agents.

It’s interesting to note that the California-based MMA governing body has caught more fighters who are alleged to have used illegal substances than any other commission. So, either their testing methods are superior to those of their contemporaries, their labs don’t effectively clean their equipment or fighters just want to fit in with the bodybuilders on Muscle Beach when they’re in the Golden State.

To date they have suspended 21 fighters for steroid use alone.

Here are some other notable offenders CSAC has punished for their alleged indiscretions:

Royce Gracie (steroids)
Josh Barnett (steroids)
Justin Levens (painkillers)
Nick Diaz (marijuana)
Antonio Silva (steroids)
Bas Rutten (painkillers)
Ken Shamrock (steroids)
James Irvin (painkillers)
Kimo Leopoldo (steroids)
Phil Baroni (steroids)
Hermes Franca (steroids)
Bill Mahood (steroids)
Ruben "Warpath" Villareal (steroids)
Dennis Hallman (steroids)
Karina Damm (steroids)
Alexandre Noguiera (steroids)
Edwin Dewees (steroids)
Kiril "Little Fedor" Sidelnikov (steroids)