Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) wants to block Chael Sonnen from competing at Metamoris 4 this Saturday (Aug. 9, 2014) in Los Angeles, Calif., against submission wizard Andre Galvao.
Why?
According to NSAC officials, Sonnen's participation at the event violates the two-year suspension he was hit with following following multiple failed drug tests during last month's hearing (recap) in Las Vegas. Even though he was spared a massive fine at the time, NSAC has threatened to drop a $250,000 per failed drug test penalty on "American Gangster" should he go on with his plans.
And, according to MMAFighting.com, plans with which he plans to follow through.
"Chael Sonnen's jiu-jitsu coach Fabiano 'Pega-Leve' Scherner told MMAFighting.com on Wednesday night that the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger had decided to travel to Los Angeles and will battle Andre Galvao in the main event. Sonnen is aware that the commission might go after him after the grappling match, Scherner said, but he had no choice but to honor his commitment with Metamoris and compete."
Meanwhile, Sonnen's lawyer, Ross Goodman, is attempting to get clarification from NSAC.
In fact, MMAJunkie.com reports that Goodman wants to know specific reasons NSAC is trying to prevent Sonnen from participating in the submission tournament when it doesn't involve "fighting" whatsoever. To see the letter Goodman penned to NSAC Chairman Fransisco Aguilar click here.
In addition, Goodman is trying to figure out why NSAC suddenly has an issue with Sonnen's Metamoris match when it never bothered to bring it up during the recent hearing. After all, Sonnen was booked for the event months prior.
And, in an interesting twist, here is a video interview with Aguilar that was conducted on July 23, 2014, revealing that Sonnen can indeed participate in a wrestling event, as well as a no-gi event, because they do not fall under their "unarmed combat" sanctioning guidelines.
Something Goodman also pointed out in his letter.
It's because of these points that Sonnen likely still plans to compete at Metamoris 4; however, according to Damon Martin of FOX Sports, if Sonnen hits the mat the weekend, NSAC intends to "bring the hammer down."
Seems like a good 'ole fashioned showdown!