ne Smith is believed to have been in talks with Harlequins

For the first time in more than two years, Chael Sonnen is back to promoting himself as an active mixed martial artist. Its almost as if he never left.Sonnen (28-14-1) shocked the MMA industry this week when he announced a multifight deal with Bellator MMA. Prior to this deal, the 39-year-old had fought exclusively in the UFC since 2009 and developed into a major star along the way.On Friday, Sonnen hosted an international conference call alongside Bellator president Scott Coker. At least from a verbal standpoint, Sonnen picked up right where he left off in 2014, when his career was placed on hold due to a two-year drug suspension.With Sonnen, it is often difficult to figure out where truth ends and promotion begins. His quotes are best defined as claims rather than absolute truths. Heres what he had to say, however, on his return to the cage:Prior to signing with Bellator, Sonnen submitted four drug tests to the UFCs anti-doping program, all of which came back negative.The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) website confirms Sonnen has submitted four samples in 2016. The agency does not typically release results unless there is an adverse finding.It is worth noting that Bellator does not have a year-round anti-doping program. The promotion relies purely on the oversight of state athletic commissions in the U.S.Everything was fine, Sonnen said. They tested me at least four times. It could have been more. I think four was the number, and yeah, there was no problem. Im on the other side of the tracks now.I get asked by people, Did you ever take anything that was an enhancer? I never took anything that wasnt an enhancer. Thats the only reason I would take something, is if I thought it would enhance me. Im on the other side now. Theres still commissions, and if we go to California, which is what Im lobbying for, [executive director] Andy Foster is as strict as it gets. Hes No. 1. There is nobody stricter, and he will bring in USADA.Presumably due to his history, Sonnen claims there is a $500,000 fine written into his contract if he fails another drug test.[USADA] didnt have anything to do with [moving to Bellator], the Oregon native said. If I would have gotten flagged by USADA, Coker would not have talked to me either, and I get it. I would be toxic.I dont like those things I did. They embarrass me. I steer into it sometimes, but the truth is that stuff embarrasses me. It was a different world with different times, and you have to change with those times or youre outside the lines. I was outside the lines. I should have been suspended [in 2014]. I was, and I did my time. I can tell you Im not going back.If I was to fail a test under my Bellator contract, it would cost me 100 percent of my purse and $500,000. That is in writing.Sonnen is willing to fight at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. He would like to fight as soon as possible and believes former UFC champion Tito Ortiz as a first opponent makes sense.I dont know, Im on a legends ass-kicking tour, and I hope they book two guys because one of them is going to pull out, Sonnen said.Somebody else suggested Tito to me, and when they did, I thought, Man, that makes a lot of sense. Tito is a legend. Tito is even a friend of mine. Bottom line is, he has been around, and I was jealous of him for a long time.I still see him at events and he looks at me in the same way I look at him. I look at him like, Tito, you know I could whip your ass, and he gives me the exact same look. If the Bad Boy wants a piece of the Bad Guy, all youve got to do is say my name.Sonnens deal with Bellator is the biggest deal he has ever signed and encompasses three years ... he thinks.This is the biggest deal Ive signed, thats true, but its not about the money, Sonnen said. People tell you money makes you happy. Ive got $10 million and I can tell you its not true. Im not any happier than I was when I had $9 million. Its the same thing.I really dont know [the length of the contract]. I couldnt tell you the number. Its multifight, multiyear. I believe its three years, six-fight deal, but I could be wrong on that. So if Coker corrects me on that, dont call me a liar. But Im in for the long run, man.When asked to confirm, Coker stated, I really cant talk about the details, [but] Chael is pretty close.Sonnen provided very few details about his contractual release from the UFC.Sonnens UFC departure was shocking for several reasons, including the presumption that it required his UFC release. He was still under contract in 2014 and was even scheduled to fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 175 before failing a pair of tests and announcing his retirement.UFC president Dana White confirmed to ESPN.com that the UFC granted Sonnen his release, but did not offer further details. Sonnen took a similar approach.I guess you call it a paperwork issue, Sonnen said. Youre either under contract or not, and I wasnt. I definitely had a release. Youve got to understand, Ive got to go back two or three years; I havent been in this since 2013. When my storm first hit, I believe I was released right then, but if youre asking when actual paperwork came, I dont know.[The UFC] was the track I was going down. This had nothing to do with the new ownership or anything like that. Look, you can only sign at one place. Unfortunately, thats where the sport is at. People have their own promotions and networks. One is a pay-per-view business [UFC] and one is in television ratings [Bellator]. They are different models. Youve got to pick which one youre gonna go with.Jerseys MLB Wholesale . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Discount Baseball Jerseys . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.authenticnflchinajerseys.com/ . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. NFL Jerseys Wholesale .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras.Winger Tim Visser says Sir Clive Woodwards comments about second division Scotland will put fire in the bellies of his team-mates for the rest of the Six Nations.In his Daily Mail column this week, Woodward said England have dealt very well with the Second Division of the Six Nations but its First Division all the way from this point onwards.His comments were not warmly welcomed by Scotland, and Harlequins star Visser believes Woodwards view will only serve to inspire the Scots. Speaking on Rugby Club Agenda, Visser said: It will put a bit of fire in the bellies I think. The Scots obviously dont get on too well with the English anyway, but stuff like that and whatever he means by it… I dont actually know what he means by that, its pretty insincere as far as I can see. If you look at the quality of the players at the club and the talent within the squad it deserves to have a coach of that standing. He would be someone who could lead us on and take us even higher than we have been. Tim Visser on Wayne Smith Visser, who has not played a part in this years Six Nations so far due to injury, says Vern Cotters side need no motivation to win after suffering the heartbreak of opening their campaign with slender losses to England and Wales.Theyre obviously going to be disappointed. Ive spoken to one or two of the players and its hard to take defeats like that when theyre that narrow, Visser added.Theyre obviously going to try and stay positive. Theres a whole Six Nations to still play, so not letting their heads go down is massively important.Going to Italy away well have to dig deep and get a victory there, something we obviously didnt do last year which was the turning point in the Six Nations for us.We need to go out there and get a win and that can give you that positive encouragement to go into France for another victory. Tim Visser scores for Scotland against USA in the 2015 World Cup In the 2015 World Cup, Scotland managed to sneak into the knock-out stage after pool wins over Samoa, USA and Japan, before providing one of the performances of the tournament in a 35-34 quarter-final loss to Australia and the former Edinburgh winger is confident that Cotter can once again turn things around for Scotland.Hes a very positive coach, he likes to play rugby. He wants to see us score tries which is really good, especially for someone like myself on the wing, said Visser. Tim Visser in action for Scotland The way he coaches is quite interesting because even though hes a big, burly guy he tends to talk quite softly so that you actually have to pay attention.Hell obviously tell the boys to keep their heads up and keep playing rugby and believing in what we do. Belief is something wevee been talking about for the last year.ddddddddddddThe talent is obviously within the squad, but its important that we keep believing in ourselves because the tide will turn at some point, and we have shown that we can turn it like we did at the World Cup. Conor OShea will leave Harlequins at the end of the season Visser is currently working under is Quins boss Conor OShea, though the Irishman has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season. Since the announcement, Harlequins have slipped to three consecutive Premiership defeats, but Visser refuses to blame OSheas departure for the lack of form.Conor is a great coach. The boys love him and they love playing for him, more importantly, but were professional rugby players - coaches leave, players leave. I dont think it will influence the players and the way we play, I think its more been about the timing. Sky Live: Glasgow v Munster Glasgow v Munster: Guinness PRO12 preview It was just before the Six Nations and we had a bit of talent lost to England and I think thats been a major factor.Also if you look at some of the results, the Northampton game we had practically won but we failed to get the ball off the pitch with no time left so that was particularly disappointing for us, that was four points weve left.We went away to Newcastle and didnt pick up the points there. Newcastle actually are on a bit of a resurgence at the moment, theyre doing well so youve got to give them some credit, but looking at the table its disappointing for us as a top 4 club not to go over there and pick up points. That will come back to haunt us I think.One of the coaches believed to be in line to take over from OShea is two-time World Cup winner Wayne Smith, who Visser believes could take Harlequins to new heights. Wayne Smith is believed to have been in talks with Harlequins That would be great, the club deserves to have a coach like that.Conor has done wonderfully well over the years hes been here, hes picked up a lot of trophies and the club has been successful overall and I think to continue a trend like that you have to invest in coaches like that. Theyre enormously important. If you look at the quality of the players at the club and the talent within the squad it deserves to have a coach of that standing.He would be someone who could lead us on and take us even higher than we have been.Can Scotland win their three remaining games in the Six Nations? Share your comments below or Tweet us @SkySportsRugbyAlso See:Brown ready for Europes bestJones warning for CiprianiPayne signs new IRFU dealHarlequins v Leicester preview ' ' '