UFC
Chael Sonnen now to meet Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston this October
Jul 6, 2011 - 11:15:38 PM Chael Sonnen now to meet Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston this October

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Chael Sonnen's brief flirtation with a light heavyweight contest against Lyoto Machida may be over, but he's still being targeted for UFC 136 in Houston this October.

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Sonnen is now expected to meet Brian Stann on the card, coming on October 8 to the Toyota Center.

Sonnen will fight for the first time since losing to Anderson Silva in a Middleweight Championship bout last August. He failed a pre-fight steroid test and was suspended, leading to a heavily publicized saga in which he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, got his suspension halved by lying about conversations with the Nevada commission and was subsequently re-suspended by California.

Stann has won three straight fights in the middleweight division since dropping from 205 lbs., and he gets his biggest fight to date against a former title challenger. His TKO wins over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago in the first half of 2011 have him poised to be a break out star, and a win over Sonnen would go a long way in that direction.

UFC 136 may be headlined by a Featherweight Championship fight between Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian, though that fight has not yet been confirmed.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is the best middleweight fight to make for Sonnen and for Stann. Sonnen will still have a following upon his return, and by going to Texas they're not likely to run into an issue in getting him licensed right away. Of course, there are all sorts of conflicting issues with them doing whatever they can to get Sonnen licensed after firing Nate Marquardt, but from a strict matchup standpoint this is a very good fight in this division.