ESPN announced Tuesday that it has a new analyst for MMA, who happens to be former UFC fighter and Fox Sports broadcaster Chael Sonnen.
The sports channel said the deal will have "The American Gangster" serve as "a studio and on-site analyst, providing expert pre- and post-fight insight on 'SportsCenter''s coverage of major UFC pay-per-view events," according to MMAjunkie.
The signing follows Sonnen's firing from Fox Sports and failure of drug tests issued before his fight with Vitor Belfort at UFC 175. The Nevada State Athletic Commission gave Sonnen a two-year suspension in July for the failed tests, a punishment the former middleweight agreed to. The performance-enhancing drugs involved in the tests were anastrozole, clomifene, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), human growth hormone (HGH) and recombinant human erythropoietin.
Sonnen's ESPN debut will take place on Friday, in which he will break down Saturday's UFC 180 pay-per-view card, MMA Fighting reported.
"I love to break down fights," the 37-year-old ex-contender 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."
Chael said recently on his podcast "You're Welcome with Chael Sonnen" that he wasn't sorry for his PED use, adding that he knew what he was doing, MMAjunkie reported.
"If I go jump in my car and I back up and I hit my neighbor's garbage cans, I'm sorry for that. This was a calculated decision. I made the decision, and I'll live with it. That's it. I wouldn't make any excuses about it," he said.
Sonnen also told AP that he won't avoid talking about the failed drug tests or any other topic while he works for ESPN, MMA Fighting reported. ESPN senior coordinating producer Glenn Jacobs said that while Sonnen has made mistakes, he has been honest about them and is moving foward.
"The insights that he has on the sport and the way he sees it, our fans are going to be so much better from watching him on the air," Jacobs added. "They're going to be able to watch the fight and look for totally different things than they would have otherwise."
