The Weekly Wrap: Dec 3 - Dec. 10

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Sonnen’s Future

The week after his testimony before the California State Athletic Commission resulted in his drug test failure suspension being cut in half, Chael Sonnen’s 2011 began to take shape.

Sonnen, now eligible to return to competition on March 2, has been rumored as a candidate to coach opposite Wanderlei Silva on Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which starts filming next month and premieres on March 30. The pair has begun prodding each other on Twitter. UFC President Dana White told media he had not yet thought about who will coach, though he said a decision will have to be made Monday.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer has said Sonnen would need to appear before the commission and obtain a fight license before he could coach on the show, which tapes in Las Vegas. White said Sonnen’s commission issues would not rule him out as a coach. Sonnen told the California commission that Kizer had approved a therapeutic exemption that allows him to use testosterone, a claim Kizer denied in an ESPN.com interview.

Sonnen was suspended after he failed a performance-enhancing drug screening taken before his Aug. 7 fight against Anderson Silva. Sonnen’s testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio was at 16.9, well above California’s allowed 4.0 cutoff ratio. Sonnen got his one-year suspension reduced by pointing to a prescription his personal physician wrote him for testosterone, done because his body’s testosterone production is low due to a condition called hypogonadism. Sonnen said he began the twice-a-week testosterone injection treatments in January 2008.

Sonnen, who said the UFC’s doctor was aware of his exemption, maintained that the only issue in California was the protocol he followed in informing the commission of his situation.

Sonnen has another legal issue in the air, telling “Inside MMA” that he is due to go before a federal judge soon on a case related to his aborted run for the Oregon State House of Representatives last year. Sonnen indicated a deal could be made that would end the case. No further details were reported.