Chael Sonnen thinks Conor McGregor’s anti-doping coverage suspension isn’t precisely what it seems like.
Make no mistake, Sonnen believes the 18-month suspension McGregor is serving (retroactive to September 2024, which makes him eligible to compete once more by March 2025) is warranted, however he wonders if the previous two-division UFC champion gamed the system to keep away from a extra pricey suspension and presumably a extra extreme public embarrassment.
Sonnen isn’t any stranger to spreading gossip in relation to athlete drug take a look at drama. Famously, Sonnen has oft-repeated a narrative that UFC star Jon Jones as soon as hid below a cage to keep away from a drug take a look at, a story that was later corroborated by Jones (although Jones claims it was as a result of he would have examined constructive for marijuana, not a performance-enhancing drug). He’s now suggesting McGregor additionally selected flight over fail.
“Each canine will get one chew,” Sonnen mentioned on YouTube. “Everyone will get a cross. It’s fairly actually the rationale why they offer you three strikes in a calendar yr. Everyone’s allowed to be mistaken. Everyone’s allowed to be heavy sleeper, only for instance. Possibly they arrive at some a part of the day—regardless of the excuse could be, you don’t even have to share it. Three is sort of lots in a 12-month interval when your one and solely job is to inform them the place you’re. That’s all that you simply’re being accused of. You’re not being accused of a substance right here, you’re not being accused of something apart from clerically, administratively. Thrice in a 12-month interval you didn’t inform us the place you had been. And for any individual that has as elaborate of a workforce, I consider they did inform you the place they had been. I consider the brokers had been on the proper place. This very factor occurred with the infamous story of Jon Jones within the ring. That’s a totally true story. That they had confirmed as much as the place he mentioned that he was, he was not prepared for a take a look at, and he went below the ring. That’s a really true story, it’s not folklore.
“And my envision of what occurred right here with Conor is one thing very comparable. I’m guessing, however I’m simply telling you I consider having this lived this life, I consider they did have his whereabouts. I consider it was precisely up to date. I consider he did purposefully not permit them to check him. That’s my perception. I’m not overly upset about it. I’m not overly pointing the finger at Conor. I’m sharing, as a fellow scumbag, a number of the psychology that goes in to dwelling that life and making an attempt to remain one step forward. It’s a fantastic gig till it’s up.”
Including to Sonnen’s drug-testing expertise is his personal sordid historical past with performance-enhancing medicine, which he has admitted to utilizing and for which he has examined constructive for on a number of events. McGregor’s suspension is just not as a result of constructive assessments, however quite a trio of whereabouts violations by which he was scheduled to be examined however couldn’t be discovered.
It’s of Sonnen’s opinion that whereas McGregor has a busy life-style, an athlete of his stature would have their schedule regimented in such a means that there shouldn’t be any means he would unintentionally get his alerts crossed with testers.
“There’s not a make-believe world the place Conor’s schedule was so hectic and so busy they only forgot to replace it,” Sonnen mentioned. “And his life could be extra hectic and extra busy than most can relate to. He may very well be in three totally different states in the identical week. He may very well be in two totally different nations in the identical weeks. He may very well be on two totally different continents in the identical week. By the best way, we all know, as a result of we’ve seen it. Wherever he goes, a digicam goes, whether or not it was on TV working or he introduced us one thing on social media, this can be a man that’s on the transfer. His whereabouts could be extra difficult than any individual else, however you continue to have a workforce that’s doing them.
“He’s not simply getting on airplanes out of the blue. The workforce is arranging for him to be on an airplane. As a matter of reality, how is he going to get to the airplane? The workforce would assist to rearrange that transportation. What resort is he going to remain at? Conor doesn’t land after which ask for a suggestion of the place to remain, only for instance. These issues are all set by the workforce.”
If something, Sonnen imagines McGregor’s handlers are simply as confused as everybody else so far as how their shopper might miss a number of scheduled drug assessments. The length of the suspension has additionally raised eyebrows, with McGregor set to be eligible to compete in March, three months earlier than the UFC White Home card in June that he has brazenly campaigned to be part of.
“From Conor’s workforce’s perspective, there’s not any individual over at Crew Conor that’s going to be fired,” Sonnen mentioned. “There’s not any individual that was un-diligent. There’s not any individual that made a mistake, I don’t guess. I’m guessing no one might be fired and no one might be delivered to your consideration and no one did make a mistake. I’m guessing that all of them stuffed the paperwork out precisely. The correct airways, the correct metropolis, state, and nation, and the correct resort.
“However they’re going to be asking, ‘Why?’ They’re going to be turning to their shopper saying, ‘Why? How did they not discover you? How did they not take a look at you? How did this occur on this date after which 4 months later after we mentioned it, it occurred once more the very subsequent day?’ That’s a kind of spots. I don’t understand how Conor will deal with it.”
