#3 – Josh Barnett‘s Roid Issues Kill Affliction

(Video courtesy of Vimeo.com/5003534.) 
What happened: Back in 2008, a clothing company by the name of Affliction decided to give this whole MMA promotion thing a try. Headed by owner and 2-0 fighter Tom Attencio, Affliction’s first card, Banned, featured a card stacked with names like Fedor, Barnett, Rizzo, Sylvia, Arlovski, and Sobral. But from the get go, the astronomical figures some of the fighters were being paid threatened to collapse the promotion before it even took off. So heading into their third event, Trilogy, Attencio aimed to silence the critics and prove that his organization would not simply fade away, and scheduled a contest between the top two heavyweights in the world, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett. Well, things were going swimmingly until Barnett tested positive for steroids and was denied a licence to fight by CSAC.

The fallout: When unable to find a last minute replacement for Fedor, Trilogy was scrapped altogether. Shortly thereafter, Attencio announced that Affliction was done with, and would be returning as a UFC sponsor, which was basically the reason they had started a rival MMA promotion in the first place. Barnett began a lengthy battle with the CSAC to clear his name and reapply for a licence. After four delays, Barnett withdrew the application, and instead received one in Texas shortly after signing with Strikeforce. He has since gone 4-0, and everyone’s brushed that whole “roids” issue under the carpet like it was Marion Barry’s crack addiction.

#2 – Chael Sonnen gets busted for fraud

(Video courtesy of YouTube/kermitmousasi.)
What happened: Living up to his self proclaimed “Oregon Gangster” moniker, Chael Sonnen not only joined the steroid bust timeline in the fallout of his submission loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117, but was shortly thereafter involved in a real estate scandal in his home state of Oregon. I’ll save you the lengthy explanation of the case, but basically what happened was that Chael inflated the value of homes he was selling based on fake repairs that were never needed or actually carried out, and then gave some of the money to those buying the homes as sort of an incentive for knowingly participating in something illegal. Oh, and he and his mother split some of the incentive money as well, totaling over $70,000 in laundered funds. This coming from a man who was planned to run for State Representative. Just goes to show that all politicians are sleazeballs in one form or another.

The fallout: Sonnen was sentenced to two years probation and received a $10,000 fine, which he likely paid for with the money he laundered in the first place. Not bad considering the charges originally carried a possible 20 year sentence and $500,000 fine. Turns out, Chael’s steroid use was a result of his lack of general manliness, and Sonnen returned to the MMA scene last month at UFC 136, scoring a second round submission over Brian Stann and allowing this soulless world to embrace him once again.

#1 – Joe Son’s Birth 

What happened: You know, it’s funny, I started this list knowing that Joe Son would inevitably be number one, but now that I’ve arrived here, I find myself devoid of the necessary words to describe this abomination to the human race. So instead of justifying this immense pile of mung with an article decribing his atrocities to mankind, I’ll instead provide links for those of you who are unaware of who exactly Joe Son is. Here’s one. Here’s another.

The fallout: Joe Son was given life in prison, upon which he immediately became a suspect in the murder of his cellmate, for which he is still under investigation. Lady Justice wept, and Freddy Krueger has slept with a nightlight ever since. We can only hope that if Joe Son is given another cellmate, it will be Jerry Sandusky.

Think you have any (Dis)honorable mentions for the list? Let us know in the comments section.

-Danga  

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