Look up mma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

MMA may refer to:

• Mixed martial arts, a full contact combat sport
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, a museum in New York City

Business and commerce[link]

• MacRobertson Miller Airlines, a Western Australian airline that operated from 1934 into the 1980s
• Maldives Monetary Authority, a central bank
• Malta Maritime Authority, responsible for the operation of the ports in Malta
• Manufacturer's Mutual Association, an organization formed in 1902 to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry
• Money market account, a type of deposit account
• Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, a North American regional freight railroad
• Mobile marketing association, a trade group established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and technologies
• Mutuelles du Mans Assurances, a French insurance company

Politics and religion[link]

• Ma malakat aymanukum, a reference in the Qur'an to slaves
• Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of religious political parties in Pakistan
• Medicare modernization act, an American Congressional act that enabled the creation of medicare plans and health savings accounts

Science and technology[link]

• Manual metal arc welding, a common arc welding method
• Methyl methacrylate, an organic compound
• Methylmalonic acid, a dicarboxylic acid
• MIDI Manufacturers Association, caretaker of the MIDI specification
• Millimeter Array, an American radio telescope project
• Monomethylarsonic acid or MMA(V), an organic arsenic compound
• Monomethylarsonous acid or MMA(III), an organic arsenic compound
• Multimission Maritime Aircraft or P-8 Poseidon, a current US Navy program
• Tecnam MMA, a twin-engine aircraft
• Multi-path Management API, allows an application to discover multipath devices
• Method of Moving Asymptotes, method to solve structural optimization problem.

Medicine[link]

• Mastitis-metritis-agalactiae, a disease in sows
• Maxillomandibular advancement, a type of jaw surgery
• Methylmalonic acidemia, an autosomal genetic disorder
• Monomelic amyotrophy, a disease of the lower motor neurons
• Middle meningeal artery, a large artery supplying the dura mater, often a source of an epidural hematoma

Schools[link]

• Maine Maritime Academy, a US public college, Castine, Maine
• Marine Military Academy, a boarding school based on the United States Marine Corps, Harlingen, Texas
• Marmion Military Academy, a Benedictine boarding school in Aurora, Illinois
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a US state college, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
• Missouri Military Academy, a boarding school in Mexico, Missouri
• Moscow Medical Academy, a medical educational institution, Moscow, Russia

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted^{[citation needed]} for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over Ricardo Arona. In the United States, he is known for his tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jackson is the first person to unify any of the UFC and Pride FC championship belts, defeating Pride Fighting Championships Middleweight title holder Dan Henderson in 2007. Jackson is ranked as the #5 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog,^[1] MMAWeekly^[2] and Yahoo! Sports.^[3]

Jackson appeared for a second time as a coach on the reality series The Ultimate Fighter opposite Rashad Evans. They were scheduled to fight at UFC 107, but this bout was cancelled when Jackson took a movie role to play B. A. Baracus in The A-Team feature film.^[4][5][6] Jackson guest co-hosted WWE Raw on June 7, 2010, along with his A-Team co-stars Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley. Jackson refuted any doubts to whether acting was getting in the way of his fighting by saying, “I got a whole bunch of movies coming up, they ain’t got nothing to do with my day job,” he retorted at a UFC 135 kickoff presser on July 19, 2011. “I turn down movies all the time to fight. This is my day job fighting. This is what pays my bills and puts my kids through college and stuff."^[7]

Early life[link]

Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Jackson had his first taste of combat sports as a wrestler for Raleigh-Egypt High School, where his successful career included All-State honors. Originally, Jackson intended to pursue a career in professional wrestling after graduating high school, but ultimately extended his amateur career at the junior college level. After discovering mixed martial arts, Jackson trained in Las Vegas with BAMMA fighter Lewis Rumble.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Early career[link]

Impressed by the success of other wrestlers in MMA, Jackson decided to try his own hand at the sport. Jackson built up an impressive record of 10 wins and 1 loss fighting for a variety of smaller scale American promotions, including King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge and Dangerzone.

Pride Fighting Championships[link]

Japan's Pride organization in 2001 marketed Jackson as being a homeless person.^[8] Jackson, still a relatively unknown fighter, first was matched at Pride 15 against fellow wrestler and Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba, who was at that time Pride's most prominent domestic fighter.^[9] Jackson lost due to a rear naked choke from Sakuraba, but his performance opened the eyes of Pride's fan base and its executive office.

After beating pro-wrestler Alexander Otsuka in a fight for the Battlarts promotion, Jackson was invited back for Pride 17 where he scored a knockout victory over Otsuka's training partner, Yuki Ishikawa. In his next fight, Jackson was disqualified for a low blow against Daijiro Matsui.

Jackson then went on to defeat Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman and Mikhail Illoukhine in successive Pride bouts. He also made forays into kickboxing with a pair of victories over kickboxer Cyril Abidi, under K-1 rules.^{[citation needed]} The first kickboxing bout between Abidi and Jackson was on July 14, 2002. Many expected Jackson's wild style of striking would not translate into the K-1 ring, thinking he would be outclassed by such a schooled and disciplined striker as Abidi.^[10] Instead, Jackson overwhelmed Abidi from the opening bell, and knocked him down less than a minute into the bout. Jackson then scored a hard underhand right to the chin of Abidi, knocking him out only 1:55 into the very first round.

Later in the year, Abidi wanted to prove that his loss to the undisciplined Jackson was nothing more than a fluke, and faced him on the New Year's Eve Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye card, again in a K-1 rules bout.^{[citation needed]} Jackson laid a lot of criticism to rest by once again defeating Abidi, this time not by early knockout, but via a clear decision.^{[citation needed]} It would be Jackson's last foray with kickboxing, as he returned to full-time MMA competition after his second win over Abidi.

Rivalry with Wanderlei Silva[link]

Around this time, Jackson began stating his intentions to capture the Pride Middleweight (205 lb/93 kg) title from Wanderlei Silva. In the opening round of Pride's 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, Jackson won a split decision over Murilo Bustamante. Three months later, Jackson defeated UFC fighter Chuck Liddell in the tournament's semi-finals at Pride Final Conflict 2003 by corner stoppage, putting him in place to battle Silva in the tournament finals that night. Jackson fought for the championship against Silva in what was called Fight Of The Year by various MMA media.^[who?] After taking Wanderlei Silva down and bloodying him, a stand-up was called by the referee and Jackson was stopped with a series of heavy knees to the head, leading to a referee stoppage.

Jackson continued his Pride career with a TKO victory over Ikuhisa Minowa at Pride Shockwave 2003. He then faced Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 with the winner to face Wanderlei Silva. Late in the first round Arona caught Jackson in a triangle choke, Jackson immediately picked up Arona and slammed him into the canvas earning the KO win.

Prior to his rematch with Silva, the notoriously brash Jackson made headlines with the public announcement of his conversion to be a Christian. In the fight itself, Jackson floored Silva in the opening round and later scored a takedown which led to a series of knees and elbows at the end of the round. Jackson scored another takedown in the second round, but Silva escaped to his feet and proceeded to knock out Jackson with multiple undefended knee strikes to the head.

Jackson fought Silva again at UFC 92 winning by knockout when he caught Silva with a left hook to the head.

Final bouts with Pride Fighting Championships[link]

Jackson's next two bouts were against Silva's Chute Boxe training camp partners. He won a split decision over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, but fell to Rua's younger brother, Shogun Rua, via TKO soccer kicks to the head ^[11][12]

Soon after his loss to Shogun, Jackson was contacted by veteran boxing and MMA trainer Juanito Ibarra, who saw potential in Jackson's natural abilities but viewed his profane reputation as a downfall. After a short conversation, Jackson entrusted Ibarra, a fellow born again Christian, with the managerial and training direction of his career.

Jackson then defeated Hirotaka Yokoi via TKO at Pride 30. In his final fight for Pride he won a unanimous decision over Yoon Dong-Sik at Pride 31

After Pride[link]

On May 16, 2006, the World Fighting Alliance announced it had signed Jackson to a multi-fight deal. He defeated Matt Lindland by split decision at WFA: King of the Streets on July 22, 2006. "He is a good fighter", Jackson said. "I trained hard. He is an Olympic silver medalist. So much respect to him. I knew I had to bring it."^{[citation needed]} The match turned out to be a tough one for the Memphis native who got caught in guillotine choke holds twice. Jackson managed to get out both times, and slammed Lindland a few times before cutting the bridge of his nose with ground and pound on his way to the win.

UFC[link]

On December 11, 2006, Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, announced it had acquired select assets from the World Fighting Alliance, which ceased operations as part of their sales agreement. Jackson's WFA contract was one of the assets acquired.^[13]

In an interview on the UFC program Inside the UFC, Jackson said it was finally time for him to enter the organization, and that he had not before because of his friendship with UFC fighter Tito Ortiz.^[14] Jackson said that because Ortiz was one of the biggest stars in the UFC, and that both were fighters in the same weight class, he did not want to interfere.

Jackson made his UFC debut at UFC 67, where he knocked out Marvin Eastman,^[15] avenging an early career loss.^[16]

Winning the Light Heavyweight Championship[link]

At UFC 71 on May 26, 2007, Jackson faced UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell in a title rematch of their 2003 Pride bout. Approximately 90 seconds into the first round, Jackson caught Liddell with a right hook to the jaw that sent him down to the mat,^[17] where Jackson landed a few more clean shots on the ground before a referee stoppage at 1:53 seconds to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight title.^[18]

Jackson then defeated Pride Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75,^[19] on September 8, 2007, in London, England via unanimous decision to unify the two organizations' titles.^[20]

[edit] The Ultimate Fighter 7

On December 9, 2007, it was announced by Dana White at Spike TV's Video Game Awards show that Jackson will be one of the two coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 7.^[21] At the conclusion of the season, Jackson fought the other coach and number one contender Forrest Griffin at UFC 86.^[22] During the show Jackson showed his temper after his fighters repeatedly lost to Team Forrest. Going into the semifinals, only two of Jackson's original fighters made the cut while Forrest had 6 of his fighters advance. In the finale Team Griffin's pick, Amir Sadollah beat Team Jackson's top fighter C.B. Dollaway via armbar in the first round.^[23]

On July 5, 2008, he fought Griffin for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 86 and lost a judges' decision. In the first round of the fight Jackson wobbled Griffin with two solid power punches, and soon after knocked Griffin down. Jackson's power proved to be problematic for Griffin as Jackson tagged him throughout the fight.^[24] In contrast, Griffin pushed the pace of the fight from start to finish and stayed much more aggressive than Jackson for most of the fight with multiple leg kicks and by mounting Quinton and landing elbows and punches to his head. In later rounds Jackson managed to take Griffin down twice and work his own ground game, almost executing his signature power bomb. Many took note as Jackson was showing obvious discomfort from the effects of the leg kicks. The next three rounds were described by Sherdog as "somewhat uneventful" with Jackson searching for the knockout punch while Griffin threw whatever he could with long jabs, leg and body kicks.^[24][25] Griffin was awarded a unanimous decision with the scores 46–48, 46–48 and 46–49 in what many considered an upset.^[26]

After the fight both Griffin and his coach Randy Couture expressed that they thought the fight was close,^[25] and Jackson's coach, Juanito Ibarra, had planned to protest the unanimous decision with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.^[26] However, after speaking with the commission about his complaint, he decided not to file because he was informed that even if the judges scores were changed to his satisfaction, the fight would still result in a victory for Griffin by a majority decision.^[27][28] Soon after the fight, Jackson fired his long time trainer/manager Ibarra.^[29] There were talks of an immediate rematch after the fight. Following the loss of his belt, Quinton was involved in a hit and run incident and a high speed police pursuit in Newport Beach, California, charges followed to which he would plead guilty.^[30]

Back to title contention[link]

Jackson began training for his next fight at UFC 92, which would be against Wanderlei Silva, the only man to defeat Jackson twice.^[31] Jackson avenged his previous defeats by knocking Silva out with a vicious left hook in the first round.^[32] The fight was notable for some controversy surrounding the conclusion of the match, as Jackson followed Silva to the ground with another three punches before referee Yves Lavigne called the fight. Yves was unsuccessful at protecting Silva from the second and third punches.^[33]

Jackson's next fight was against Keith Jardine at UFC 96 on March 7, 2009. It was announced before the fight that if Jackson won he would fight Rashad Evans for the Light Heavyweight Championship and if he lost Lyoto Machida would fight for the title instead. Jackson then won the fight by unanimous decision.^[34] Jackson was on track to get his title shot but lingering injuries kept him from fighting. Lyoto Machida received the title shot and Evans was expected to defend his belt as the main event instead; Jackson had stated he would like to fight Rashad, however, he suffered torn ligaments in his jaw that will require surgery and five weeks of no contact.^[35] Therefore, Lyoto Machida replaced Jackson, and Jackson was expected to fight the winner of the Machida vs. Evans bout, though that fight never came to fruition.^[36]

[edit] The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights

Production of the tenth series of The Ultimate Fighter reality series began in June 2009 with Jackson coaching opposite former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. The season, featuring 16 heavyweight competitors including internet street fighter Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, the former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy "Big Country" Nelson and former NFL players, made its premiere on Spike TV on September 16 with the finale scheduled for December 5.

At the UFC 100 Fan Expo event in Las Vegas, July 2009

Retirement and return[link]

On September 22, 2009, Jackson wrote in a blog on his website that he was "done fighting", due to maltreatment by the UFC. On December 4, 2009, Jackson informed the community via his web blog that he would return to the UFC to finish his contract and wanted to fight Rashad Evans.^[37][38][39] At the UFC 107 press conference, Dana White stated that if Rashad Evans could defeat Thiago Silva at UFC 108, then a fight between Evans and Jackson would finally come to fruition.^[40]

Jackson was expected to finally face Rashad Evans at UFC 113,^[41] but the bout was scheduled for May 29, 2010, at UFC 114.^[42] UFC President Dana White had officially confirmed that the fight against Rashad Evans would determine who would challenge Mauricio Rua in his first UFC Light Heavyweight Title defense.^[43] Jackson ended up losing to Rashad Evans via unanimous decision. Jackson was tagged in the opening moments and spent the next two rounds being taken down before hurting Evans in the third, but was unable to finish him.

Return to title contention[link]

On March 24, 2010, Dana White announced that Jackson signed a new six fight contract with the UFC.^[44] Jackson's next fight was against former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 on November 20, 2010. At UFC 123, Jackson met Machida in the main event. Jackson went on to win by a controversial split decision. UFC president Dana White put all doubts to rest and supported the judges' decision, saying that Jackson won the first two rounds and no rematch would be needed.^[45]

Jackson was expected to face Thiago Silva but Silva had problems in his UFC 125 drug test and was replaced by Matt Hamill on May 28, 2011, at UFC 130.^[46] Jackson put on a dominant display, easily defending the decorated wrestler's takedowns and winning the striking exchanges. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Second title shot[link]

Jackson faced Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight title on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135.^[47] Jackson lost by submission in the fourth round after Jones applied a rear-naked choke. The loss marks the first time Jackson had been finished during his run in the UFC.

Post title shot[link]

Jackson faced Ryan Bader on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144. Jackson missed weight the Light Heavyweight weight allowance of 206 lbs by 5 lbs, weighing in at 211 lbs for UFC 144.^[48] He cited a training injury that preventing him from doing road work. Bader accepted the fight at catchweight and received 20% of Jackson's purse. Jackson lost the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Jackson recently tweeted that he's leaving the UFC after his loss to Ryan Bader^[49] He was planning to face former Pride rival, Shogun Rua as his last UFC fight, but opted to have double knee surgery. Who he will face in his last UFC fight is currently unknown.

Championships and accomplishments[link]

[edit] Mixed martial arts

• PRIDE Fighting Championships
  • 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix (Runner-up)
• Sherdog
  • 2007 Fighter of the Year ^[50]
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
  • One successful title defense
  • Unified UFC Light Heavyweight and PRIDE Middleweight Championship
  • Fight of the Night (Three times)
  • Knockout of the Night (Two times)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 2004 Fight of the Year vs. Wanderlei Silva on October 31^[51]
  • 2008 Fight of the Year vs. Forrest Griffin on July 5^[51]
  • 2007 Most Outstanding Fighter ^[51]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

== Kickboxing record ==

2 Win (1 (T)KO, 1 Decision), 0 loss
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time
2002-12-31	Win	Cyril Abidi	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002, Japan	Decision	3	3:00
2002-07-14	Win	Cyril Abidi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Fukuoka, Japan	KO (Punch)	1	1:55

Acting career[link]

Jackson has appeared in Confessions of a Pit Fighter, Miss March, Bad Guys and The Midnight Meat Train, as well as an episode of The King of Queens, @#!*% and Pimp My Ride. He starred in The A-Team^[52] and is also set to appear in Never Surrender, Duel of Legends, and Death Warrior. He appeared in the Nike commercial, "Human Chain". Jackson also appeared on WWE Monday Night Raw on June 7, 2010, as a guest host.

Film and television credits[link]

Personal life[link]

Jackson resides in Ladera Ranch, California and has four children: D'Angelo and Raja from previous relationships and Elijah and Naname Nakia Jackson with his wife, Yuki. All three boys have the middle name "Rampage" while Naname has just "'Page". Jackson's wife, Yuki, separated from him in 2006 after a paternity test proved that he had fathered a child, Raja, with another woman in 2000. Quinton and his wife have since reconciled.^[53][54]

Arrest[link]

On July 15, 2008, 10 days after losing his belt to Forrest Griffin, Jackson was arrested in Costa Mesa, California and booked on suspicion of felony reckless driving, and felony hit and run after striking several vehicles. He led pursuing officers on a chase while driving on the wrong side of the street and on city sidewalks in his lifted Ford F-350 with his picture painted on the side. During the chase one of the tires blew out on his truck and he continued to flee while driving on his rims. On July 18, 2008, UFC President Dana White gave an interview to Yahoo! Sports in which he said that Jackson had initially been detained for a 72 hour stay, but that had been extended. White was quoted as saying, "I think it's going to be a while before we get him back."^{[citation needed]} White also claimed that before the detainment, Jackson did not sleep for four days, had not been eating, and had only been drinking energy drinks and became mentally ill from dehydration. According to White, no drugs were found in Jackson's system.^[55]

Quinton Jackson was charged with one felony count of evading police while driving recklessly, one felony count of evading police and driving against traffic, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving when he nearly hit several pedestrians. Jackson faced up to 3 years in prison if convicted.^[56]

On August 28, 2008, Jackson pleaded not guilty to the all charges; however, on January 8, 2009, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of evading a police officer and driving against traffic and one misdemeanor count of driving recklessly as part of a plea agreement. A judge dismissed the charges against Jackson on January 8, 2010, citing that he had successfully completed 200 hours of community service and complied with other terms and conditions.^[57]

Holly Griggs is one of the victims in the above police chase. She filed a civil suit against Jackson alleging "the impact of her abdomen with the steering wheel caused her amniotic fluid membranes (bag of waters) to rupture, ultimately resulting in the stillbirth of her baby." She is asking for $25,000 in damages for "property damage, personal injury and emotional distress. Farrah Emami, Spokesperson for the DA's office said "We reviewed all the medical records and spoke with the victim's physician, and the evidence showed that the loss of the fetus was not related to or a result of the crash caused by the defendant".^[58]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Quinton Jackson

• Official website
• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Myspace
• Professional MMA record for Quinton Jackson from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile
• Quinton Jackson at the Internet Movie Database
• Yuki Jackson Biography

Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen at UFC 115 in Vancouver, Canada, on June 11, 2010.
Born	Chael Patrick Sonnen (1977-04-03) April 3, 1977 (age 35) West Linn, Oregon, United States
Other names	The Foreman American Gangster[1] The People's Champ[2]
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	185.5 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Division	Middleweight (185 lb) Light Heavyweight (205 lb)
Reach	74 in (188 cm)
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Portland, Oregon, United States
Team	Team Quest
Wrestling	NCAA Division I Wrestling Olympic Alternate Greco-Roman wrestling
Years active	1997, 2002–present (MMA)[3][4]
Mixed martial arts record
Total	39
Wins	27
By knockout	7
By submission	4
By decision	16
Losses	11
By knockout	2
By submission	8
By decision	1
Draws	1
Amateur career
Total	2
Wins	2
By knockout	2
Other information
Occupation	Mixed martial artist, promoter and entrepreneur
University	University of Oregon
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 11, 2011

Chael Patrick Sonnen^[5] (pronounced /ˈtʃeɪl ˈsʌnən/; born April 3, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, a silver medalist at the 2000 Greco-Roman World University Championships,^[6] as well as a two-time Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman winner.

As of October 2011^[update], Sonnen is ranked as the No. 2 middleweight in the world by Sherdog.^[7]

Early life[link]

Sonnen was born Chael Patrick Sonnen on April 3, 1977 in West Linn, Oregon.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Sonnen started his MMA career at the age of 19 in 1997 by defeating Ben Hailey in Vancouver, Washington. His second fight was against future ICON Sport Middleweight Champion and Strikeforce Middleweight contender Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Sonnen went 6–0 in his first six fights, until his loss to Trevor Prangley, which he later avenged in 2006 at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4. He also fought The Ultimate Fighter winner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.

UFC[link]

Sonnen made his UFC debut against former IFC and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral at UFC 55, where Sonnen fought for his first time at Light Heavyweight. He lost via triangle choke in the second round. Afterwards, he avenged his first ever MMA defeat by defeating Trevor Prangley at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 by unanimous decision. Then, for a third time, he fought Jeremy Horn at UFC 60 and lost via armbar. Having gone 1–2 in the Octagon, Sonnen was released from the UFC.

Bodog Fight[link]

After leaving the UFC, Sonnen was signed by Bodog Fight. He earned his first victory in Bodog Fight by defeating Tim Credeur via TKO. After that he fought Alexey Oleinik to a unanimous decision victory, and defeated Tim McKenzie via brabo choke within the first 15 seconds of the opening round. After quickly dismantling McKenzie, Sonnen fought UFC and Pride veteran Amar Suloev and won via TKO. After Bodog, Sonnen defeated future Ultimate Fighter member Kyacey Uscola at SuperFight 20: Homecoming.

World Extreme Cagefighting[link]

In December 2007, Sonnen fought Paulo Filho for the WEC middleweight championship. Sonnen lost via submission at 4:55 of the second round. There was controversy stemming from the fight stoppage, however. Sonnen did not tap out but yelled out, and the referee took that as a verbal submission and stopped the fight. In his post-fight interview Sonnen said that he told the referee not to stop the fight, and continually said "No" when the referee asked if he wanted to submit.^[8]

A rematch between the two was scheduled for March 26, 2008, but was cancelled due to Paulo Filho checking himself into a rehabilitation clinic for an unknown substance abuse problem.^[9] Sonnen instead faced undefeated WEC middleweight contender Bryan Baker and dominated him for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision.^[10] Sonnen and Filho eventually met again on November 5, 2008, where Sonnen soundly defeated Filho by unanimous decision. Prior to the fight, Filho did not make weight, weighing in at close to seven pounds over 185, thus making the bout a non-title match and taking away the chance for Sonnen to rematch for the WEC title. After Filho lost, he announced he would ship Sonnen the championship belt.^[11]

Return to UFC[link]

Following the dissolution of the WEC's middleweight division Sonnen was moved back over to the UFC, in his first fight in the promotion since UFC 60, he lost via triangle choke to Demian Maia at UFC 95.

Sonnen defeated Dan Miller at UFC 98 on May 23 via unanimous decision. Sonnen showed his willingness and toughness as a fighter and came in as a late replacement for Yushin Okami when Okami sustained a torn ligament in training.^[12] Sonnen took the fight on 22 days notice and lost 36 pounds to compete.^[13] Incidentally in his next fight, Sonnen out-wrestled Okami at UFC 104 to a unanimous decision victory.^[14] The weeks proceeding the fight, Okami trained with Chael Sonnen and his camp for a number of weeks. Chael Sonnen commented on Okami's size, strength and skill set as well as his relationship with Okami as something close to a brother.

Sonnen was expected to face Nate Marquardt on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110, but the fight was moved up and the two fought at UFC 109 on February 6, with Sonnen winning via unanimous decision after out-wrestling the heavily favored Marquardt for three rounds. Marquardt caught Sonnen in two very deep guillotine chokes in the first and third rounds; however, Sonnen managed to get free. With the victory, Sonnen solidified his position as the next fighter in line to challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Middleweight Championship Fight[link]

Sonnen fought Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on August 7, 2010 at UFC 117.^[15] Sonnen trash talked during the build up to the fight, which caused some controversy, as he stated that he was going to retire Silva.^[16][17][18] Sonnen won each of the first four rounds on all of the judges' scorecards, with the score heading into the fifth round being 40–34, 40–35, and 40–36.^[19][20] However in the final round Sonnen found himself caught in a triangle/armbar combination by the champion. Sonnen tapped and lost the fight by triangle at 3:10 in the fifth round. Sonnen later stated in an interview it was the choke, not the armbar, that had caused him to submit.

CSAC Suspensions and Appeals[link]

Drug tests conducted at the time of his match with Anderson Silva showed that Sonnen had an elevated testosterone/epitestosterone (or T/E) ratio which fell outside the allowable range. Specifically, Sonnen’s urinalysis showed that his T/E ratio was 16.9:1. By comparison, an average man has a T/E ratio of 1:1, and testing bodies such as CSAC may allow for a variance as high as 4:1 for athletes—meaning Sonnen's T/E ratio was nearly 17 times that of a normal man and more than four times higher than the allowed maximum for an athlete.^[21] Sonnen was fined $2,500 and suspended for one year (until September 2, 2011) by CSAC.^[22] Sonnen's scheduled rematch with Silva was cancelled in light of the suspension.^[23][24]

Initial Appeal[link]

Sonnen filed an appeal from CSAC's decision,^[25] and that hearing was held on December 2, 2010. The principal grounds of Sonnen's appeal were that: (i) he had a medical justification for taking testosterone; and (ii) he believed that he had already taken the necessary steps to disclose the condition and treatment to CSAC. Specifically, Sonnen testified that in 2008 he had been diagnosed with hypogonadism and was undergoing Testosterone replacement therapy (or TRT) in the form of synthetic testosterone which he self-injected twice weekly.^[26] Sonnen was joined at the hearing by his family physician, Dr. Mark Czarnecki, who confirmed that he had diagnosed Sonnen with hypogonadism and had prescribed the twice weekly testosterone injections in 2008.

In his further sworn testimony, Sonnen claimed to have been previously approved for TRT by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), and to have spoken directly to NSAC's Executive Director, Keith Kizer, who allegedly informed Sonnen that he was approved for TRT and should not again disclose the treatment on the pre-bout medical disclosure statements required by NSAC.^[27] Sonnen testified that he believed Keith Kizer's alleged advice about omitting his TRT on Nevada disclosure forms applied equally to the forms of other state Athletic Commissions.^[27] Additionally, Sonnen testified that he had previously disclosed his condition to CSAC, specifically citing his UFC 104 bout against Yushin Okami, which took place in Los Angeles on October 24, 2009.^[28] Based on the above sworn testimony, CSAC voted to re-characterize Sonnen's transgression as a failure to properly disclose a medical treatment, and correspondingly reduced his suspension from 12 to six months, ending March 2, 2011.

Keith Kizer has since publicly responded to Sonnen's testimony, stating that NSAC had never approved Sonnen for TRT, that Sonnen had never applied for the approval process, and that he "[had] never talked to Chael Sonnen in [his] life."^[23][29][30] At a subsequent meeting between the UFC, Sonnen, and NSAC, Kizer confronted Sonnen about the false testimony he had given at the December 2, 2010 CSAC hearing. According to Kizer, Sonnen initially deflected Kizer's questions, but when pressed further, admitted that no such conversation had occurred, explaining that "My manager and you talked about therapeutic exemptions, and therefore, I just used the wrong word. I should have said 'my' instead of 'I.' As in 'my manager' instead of 'I'" which Kizer said was a "strange story" and a "ridiculous explanation"^[31] Incidentally, Kizer has acknowledged speaking with Sonnen's manager, Matt Lindland, about TRT, but stated that the conversation concerned only the procedure itself, not the application of any particular fighter.^[32]

CSAC Executive Director, George Dodd has also contradicted Sonnen's testimony, stating that CSAC has no documentation evidencing that Sonnen was approved for TRT, either for October 24, 2009 fight with Okami, or at all.^[33]

As of January 2012^[update], there is no documented approval by CSAC, NSAC or any other state Athletic Commission to corroborate Sonnen's testimony that he has ever been approved for TRT.

Subsequent Suspension by CSAC[link]

Sonnen's abbreviated CSAC suspension expired on March 2, 2011. However, in the third week of April 2011, after working out the details with Kizer, the CSAC announced they had reversed their decision to lower his sentence, placing him on indefinite administrative suspension, due to his conviction for money laundering (see below), and his possibly false testimony during the hearing of December 2, 2010.^[32] Sonnen appeared before the Commission on May 18, 2011 to request that the suspension be lifted. After hearing testimony from Keith Kizer via streaming video, as well as Sonnen and his supporters, CSAC voted 4–1 to uphold Sonnen's indefinite suspension. Two days later, CSAC clarified that the applicable regulations only allowed for Sonnen to be suspended until his existing license expired (i.e., June 29, 2011).^[34] CSAC has stated that should Sonnen apply for a new license after June 29, 2011, he would have to re-appear before CSAC and it remained within the Commission's discretion to deny Sonnen's application.^[35]

Return to UFC[link]

After the expiration of his suspension related to his elevated testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, Sonnen returned to the UFC, defeating Brian Stann in the second round via arm triangle choke on October 8, 2011 at UFC 136.

With Silva expected to be sidelined until mid 2012 recovering from various injuries, Sonnen was expected to face Mark Muñoz on January 28, 2012 at UFC on Fox 2.^[36] However, Muñoz was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Michael Bisping.^[37] He won the fight via unanimous decision.^[38]

A rematch with Anderson Silva was expected to take place on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147.^[39] However, on April 20, according to a published report from Sherdog.com, the bout is now expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148, while the expected co-feature of the Brazilian event, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva would headline that event. The changes are due to a scheduling conflict with the UN Conference, Rio+20, which will be occurring during the same time frame as the UFC event.^[40]

Money laundering conviction[link]

Sonnen pled guilty to charges of money laundering in connection with mortgage fraud on January 3, 2011. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine,^[41] but as a result of his plea and agreeing to cooperate with the investigation into a ring of mortgage fraud (cooperating as a witness against others involved^[42]), Sonnen is expected to receive two years probation, a $10,000 fine, and the revocation of his realtor license.^[43] Sonnen, a licensed realtor in the State of Oregon, admitted that a financial transaction he conducted was designed to conceal or disguise the ownership and control of the proceeds of wire fraud.^[44]

As the agent for a home sale, Sonnen told the title company to pay a plumbing company owned by Sonnen's mother^[45] for repairs, even though he knew that they would not be carried out.^[46] After the mortgage company agreed to the loan, the plumbing company was paid $69,000, and then the plumbing company, at Sonnen's direction, paid the home buyer $65,000.^[47]

Sonnen was fined $10,000 and sentenced to two years of probation.^[48]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Amateur wrestling[link]

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division I All-American out of University of Oregon (1998)^[49][50]
  • NCAA Division I 190 lb – 8th place out of University of Oregon (1998)^[51]
  • Pac-10 Conference 190 lb – 5th place out of University of Oregon (1997)^[52]
• Oregon Wrestling Classic
  • Oregon Wrestling Classic 190 1b – 5th place (1997)^[52]
• University National Greco-Roman Championships
  • University National Greco-Roman Championships 190 1b – 3rd place out of University of Oregon (1997)^[52]
• World University Championships
  • World University Championships Greco-Roman Seniors 85 kg – second place (2000)^[53]
• Dave Schultz Memorial International
  • Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman Seniors 85 kg – winner (2000)^[54]
  • Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman Seniors 97 kg – winner (2001)^[55][56]
  • Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman Seniors 84 kg – third place (2002)^[57]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (Two times)
• Gladiator Challenge
  • Gladiator Challenge Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)^[50]
• Hitman Fighting Productions
  • Hitman Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)^[50]
• Danger Zone
  • Danger Zone Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)^[50]
  • Danger Zone Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner
• Rumble at the River
  • Rumble at the River Tournament Winner^[50]
• World MMA Awards
  • Fight of the Year (2010) – Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best on Interviews (2010)^[58]

Mixed martial arts record[link]