Despite being threatened with fines by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), retired mixed martial artist Chael Sonnen has decided to compete in the main event of Metamoris 4.
The decision was revealed by Sonnen's jiu-jitsu coach Fabiano "Pega-Leve" Scherner on Wednesday, who said the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger chose to face Brazilian grappler Andre Galvao in Los Angeles this Saturday, according to MMA Fighting. Scherner added that Sonnen knew the commission might go after him, but honoring his commitment to compete at M4 was his only option.
After failing two random drug tests over the past months and announcing his retirement from MMA, Sonnen announced he will compete against Galvao in a grappling match at M4. He was previously suspended for two years by the NAC, which has been trying to pull him off the card. While the commission doesn't have jurisdiction over grappling events in Los Angeles, it did threaten to fine Sonnen if he competes against Galvao.
Sonnen lawyer Ross Goodman sent a letter to Francisco Aguilar, the chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on Thursday as one last attempt to get a response from the NAC regarding Sonnen's participation in M4, but has yet to receive an answer, Bleacher Report said.
"Because it does not involve striking of any kind and is in no way an MMA-style event, we believe that Mr. Sonnen's participation in M4 this weekend does not violate the NSAC Order or interfere with Mr. Sonnen's ability to earn a living during the 2 year suspension outside of unarmed combat," Goodman wrote.
"While we are still hopeful to discuss this issue with you, at this point we can only presume that the lack of any response from the NSAC is a tacit approval that the M4 grappling event is not considered a violation of the suspension order."
M4 will be held on Aug. 9th at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, MMA Fighting reported. Other matches on the card include Josh Barnett vs. Dean Lister, Saulo Ribeiro vs. Robert "Comprido" Medeiros, Vinny Magalhaes vs. Keenan Cornelius, Gary Tonon vs. Kit Dale, and a secret match.
