Chael Sonnen Rules Out UFC Return, Says He’s Done Competing In MMA

It’s been about a year since former UFC star Chael Sonnen was handed a two-year suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing two out of competition drug tests, which forced Sonnen, who was 37 at the time, to retire. But despite his suspension and retirement, everybody has expected him to eventually return to the UFC at some point in 2016 to fight longtime rival Wanderlei Silva.

Back in May, it was reported by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting that Mike Roberts — who is Sonnen’s manager — had told him that Sonnen would be returning to the UFC when his suspension ended.

Sonnen appeared on the MMA Hour on Monday and was asked about his manager’s comments, and if he’ll ever return to the UFC, or the sport of MMA ever again. Sonnen quickly ruled it out, saying that his manager was wrong, and that what his manager said was a matter of opinion, not a matter of fact.

“Yeah, [Roberts] is wrong about that. He’s told me that before, too. He’s told me, ‘I don’t think you’re done. I think that there’s more.’ So, that is his opinion. He wasn’t just talking out of school on that one. But I am not going to fight again, if that’s what you’re asking. I am done fighting.”

Sonnen did admit that he still gets the itch to compete, but when he looks back at his UFC career, he sees a whirlwind similar to the one Conor McGregor is experiencing, which is chaotic to say the least. So, while Sonnen is happy about what he accomplished during his UFC career, he’s happy to leave it at that, and never return to the chaos.

“Pretty much the only joy I had in the sport is from memories. At the time that you’re in the sport, it’s very hard to enjoy it because the life that you’re leading is a lot like the one that Conor [McGregor] is leading right now, where it’s no sleep, it’s no rest, it’s no fun. It’s go, go, go — people pulling at you in every direction with the stress of the big match coming up, with the weigh-in, with taking care of the competition itself.”

As previously mentioned, there are some who believe that Sonnen will eventually return to the UFC at some point next year. In fact, UFC 200 will be taking place around the same time Sonnen’s suspension ends, and the UFC will try to make that show the biggest show in the history of the company. So, there’s a possibility that they may be looking to book Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva on the card, which was originally scheduled to take place last summer before both fighters ended up getting suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Right now, Sonnen is enjoying being an MMA analyst for ESPN, and he occasionally competes for Metamoris, which is the UFC equivalent for jiu-jitsu. Sonnen’s record for the company is 0-1 with one draw.

[Image via Ethan Miller / Getty Images]