CSAC corrects "misinterpretation"; Sonnen eligible to re-apply for license in June of 2011
Posted on May 20, 2011, 10:14 PM by Joey Santosus
Earlier this week news broke that the California State Athletic Commission had voted 4-1 to uphold top Middleweight contender Chael Sonnen's indefinite suspension. The decision was based on false testimony given by Sonnen during a previous hearing stemming from a positive drug screening following UFC 117, as well as a felony conviction in his home state of Oregon for money laundering.
According to reports, this meant that the Team Quest fighter would be unable to re-apply for his fighter's license until June of 2012, approximately one year after his current license expired. However, CSAC Executive Director George Dodd issued the following press release today, indicating that the board had "misinterpreted rule 399":
Chael Sonnen May Apply for License after June 29, 2011
Errors Made in Interpreting Rule 399
"Upon reviewing the May 18, 2011 decision of the Commission, an error in the applicability of Rule 399 was made. The rule states that, "Any applicant who has been denied an application for a license may not file a similar application until one year from the date of the last previous denial by the commission. Any application filed within the one year period may be denied without the necessity of a hearing. Anyone who has had his license revoked may not petition for reinstatement or apply for a new license until one year after the date of such revocation. Any petition for reinstatement filed within the one year period may be denied without the necessity of a hearing." Since the Commission did not revoke or deny Mr. Sonnen’s license, the rule does not apply.
Given that Mr. Sonnen’s license will expire on June 29, 2011, the suspension imposed upon the license will be extinguished by operation of law. Therefore, Mr. Sonnen may reapply for a license at any time following that date. He will, however, be required to appear at a Commission meeting to have his application considered. If the Commission denies his application, Mr. Sonnen will have to wait one year from the date of the denial."
Because their ruling upheld the current suspension on his license, instead of revoking or denying it, Sonnen is exempt from the one year waiting period and will be eligible to re-apply in June of 2011.
While this will likely put Sonnen's recent talks of retirement to rest for the time being, if he should re-apply, only to be denied, rule 399 still looms, and will leave the former title contender unable to apply again for one year.
Stay tuned to LowKick.com for more information as it becomes available.
Photo: Chael Sonnen, right, fights Yushin Okami at UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on October 24, 2009. Francis Specker
Comments
VIVA LA SONNEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is still not coming back anytime soon Imo, relax.
My dreams of watching Bisping/Sonnen TUF lives on
more sonnen news ...
duh moron
Another Sonnen hater jumping at the chance yet again....quick to put anything neutral or positive that is Sonnen related down....
I agree, the commission still needs to approve his license which I doubt will happen.
Uncle Chael is BACK!
Its still not good enough , why would those assholes change their mind in a few weeks?
they will just deny it again and Sonnen will be out for a whole year!
it sucks so bad , seems like something or someone is holding him back!
after an awesome year 2009 and 2010 beating 3 out of the 4 best Middleweights in the UFC Okami , Marquardt and Silva ( Belfort is the 4th) this sh!t happens! ( i mention Silva too because even if he lost he put a beating to the untouchable champ)
Sonnen bring so much to the UFC specially to the Middleweight division since it was so boring , i mean 2010 Fight of the Year!!
So sad , they are holding him back
Yeah I agree. This thing is just pushing back the inevitable I think. Unless they just wanted to make Sonnen sh*t bricks for a while then approve his fighter license come June 29th. Its more beneficial to everyone to have Sonnen come back to MMA. Give him a $50k fine, or make him do a ton of community service(He does a whole bunch anyway). Ending his career is illogical
They have not changed their minds. Read the article again if you are unclear.They made a mistake by using an unapplicable rule.
They're not actually doing anything that would indicate they would deny his reapplication for a license. He was already suspended, and the indefinite nature of the suspension means that it would last as long as his license would have. All they did was refuse to let him off the hook early. It's kinda like between sentenced to prison for 5 years and then being denied parole. Just because they didn't want to let you out early doesn't mean that they're not gonna let you out when your sentence is up.
I wonder how much Chael owes his lawyers for all of these hearings?
Let the debate begin.
Omg you little bitches need to stop hating on Chael is a great fighter and dominated anderson silva for four and a half rounds. Give the man the respect he deserves.
Good fighter. Not so good person.
Dominated yet still lost on roids. Losses in double digits. Not so great a fighter as you think.
Oh yea! Not really.
i am not sure if this is really good news its possible that this is the comissions way of making sonnen pay the original 1- year suspension and come july he will be granted a license. or they might be just trying to clarify the issue and will still deny him a new license. i would like to see chael back no matter your opinion of him he does bring a level of excitement to a somewhat lackluster MW division
George Dodd sounded like he was pissed that this error had be found, I won't be surprised if they deny his application by the sound of this guy
The dirty lying cheating scumbag is done. He has no place in mma. This dog is the lowest of the low. Vindication for his haters. Only brainwashed lunatic right wing weirdo's such as himself ever supported this lowlife. MMA is a thousand time's better off without this dog. Goodbye and good riddance you scumbag...
Tell us how you really feel :)
Sounds like the money finally arrived.
Come on Chael! Hurry up and get back so you can swing the Hammer at Bisping. I'm praying for them both to do the ultimate fighter!