Chael Sonnen just won’t go away… And MMA fans couldn’t be happier.
The AP has reported that the ex-UFC fighter has been hired by ESPN as a MMA analyst. Sonnen held the same position at Fox Sports before being fired earlier this summer for failing 2 PED test and being released by the UFC.
Sonnen had this to say about his ESPN opportunity:
“I love to break down fights,” Sonnen told The Associated Press. “I love to watch them. The fact that ESPN will allow me to do that on the air in a fancy suit and call it a job, it’s what I would be doing at home anyway.”
“I had stubbed my toe pretty bad,” Sonnen said. “I knew it, and I was willing just to take my medicine and go away. But when the phone call (from ESPN) came in, I was very quick to answer.”
“I wouldn’t shy away from a topic, even if it’s one that brought me shame,” Sonnen said. “There are topics like that, and there are opponents I’m going to have to cover that have also embarrassed themselves, but that’s part of the sport, man. I cherish those moments.”
ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Glenn Jacobs spoke on the Sonnen hire:
“We know Chael has made some mistakes in the past,” Jacobs told the AP. “He’s been honest. He’s been up-front about it. He has paid for the mistakes that he has made, and he’s moving forward. … The insights that he has on the sport and the ways he sees it, our fans are going to be so much better from watching him on the air. They’re going to be able to watch the fight and look for totally different things than they would have otherwise.”
Sonnen will make his ESPN debut this weekend during UFC 180.