There are talks of him wanting to return after his suspension is up next summer.
I want to say towards the end of his career he was making some good money for the UFC with the PPV numbers on the cards he fought on. Partly due to his epic smack talking and also due to the big names he was fighting.
Do you believe the UFC would take him back (he'll be 39 when his suspension is up)? And given how controversial he is, which can be a good thing when it comes to fan interest, do you think he would still sell a lot of PPVs, or has his time passed?
Yes 
For sure
With the right matchup yeah.
I'd be real excited to see him finally fight Wandy.
Who would you guys like to see him fight (besides Wandy, which would be great)?
Please... 
If the UFC is confident he can pass the drug tests he'll be back. He's stayed on good terms with Dana and more importantly he's one of the very few who know how to sell a PPV.
I'd personally like to see him v. Vitor in Brazil
His only decent ppv fight was silva 2. Of they did a 3rd for the 200 show it would help bolster numbers sure
zero question. Of course he could. He's the master of making people love him or hate him.
Anderson, Vitor, or Machida.
Thingading - Who would you guys like to see him fight (besides Wandy, which would be great)?
I doubt there is much chance of this matchup happening, but Chael vs Tim Kennedy could be fireworks, at least for the build up. Chael gives Tim BIG respect as a fighter though.
Does Vitor supplement himself when vada isn't looking ?
Would love him to but the guy can't fight clean, especially at that age and with that long of a lay off.
Hendo still competes fairly regularly and look at his decline post magic juice ban.
MilitaryAgedMonkey - Does Vitor supplement himself when vada isn't looking ?
I hope the testing is exactly the same now regardless of where the event is taking place.
That said, I am really curious to see what Vitor looks like when he fights Hendo in Brazil next month compared to how he looked when he fought Weidman in the US.
Because the last time Hendo faced Vitor (in Brazil) before the new testing, Vitor looked like a HW with muscles popping out of other muscles.
His performance against Rashaad was pathetic. They seemed like they were friends and wanted to be bar side rather than ring side. Fishy fight. If any version of Chael fights except that one, he will do OK.
jcblass - His performance against Rashaad was pathetic. They seemed like they were friends and wanted to be bar side rather than ring side. Fishy fight. If any version of Chael fights except that one, he will do OK.
Good observation. After the fight Chael said something like, "I like to tell people I will never quit in a fight. I will go until I literally can't go any more. That said, I quit against Rashad - he was too much and I couldn't get him off me."
lol - I'll give him credit for being honest there, at least. Yeah, he would need to be matched up with someone with comparable skills if he came back and might go back to MW due to his age and lack of PEDs.
Kick Boxe - His only decent ppv fight was silva 2. Of they did a 3rd for the 200 show it would help bolster numbers sure
Interesting. I think UFC 200 will end up being around the time Chael can return. Plus, Anderson's suspension will be over by then, too.
Kick Boxe - His only decent ppv fight was silva 2. Of they did a 3rd for the 200 show it would help bolster numbers sure
Define "Decent" PPV
Sonnen vs Jones was pretty big (over 500k buys)
Sonnen vs Silva 2 (925k)
can't really count the rashad fight as that was the GSP vs Hendricks card. It was good (600k + but probably due to GSP)
The Stann fight was also not the main event, but it was pretty low (225k)
Sonnen vs Silva 1 (600K)
There are several pretty respecable PPV numbers there when he was involved in a main event. Going back any earlier than the first Silva fight and he didn't headline any.
Anyway, I think it's fair to say he was an above average draw on his PPV main event fights (Both Silva fights, and the Jon Jones fight). Of course a lot of that has to do with his oppenents, but lets not kid ourselves, Sonnen SOLD those events.
Edit: I was getting those numbers from this site: http://mmapayout.com/blue-book/pay-per-view/
Kinda cool too look at all the events and the numbers they did.
Morgz -Kick Boxe - His only decent ppv fight was silva 2. Of they did a 3rd for the 200 show it would help bolster numbers sure
Define "Decent" PPV
Sonnen vs Jones was pretty big (over 500k buys)
Sonnen vs Silva 2 (925k)
can't really count the rashad fight as that was the GSP vs Hendricks card. It was good (600k + but probably due to GSP)
The Stann fight was also not the main event, but it was pretty low (225k)
Sonnen vs Silva 1 (600K)
There are several pretty respecable PPV numbers there when he was involved in a main event. Going back any earlier than the first Silva fight and he didn't headline any.
Anyway, I think it's fair to say he was an above average draw on his PPV main event fights (Both Silva fights, and the Jon Jones fight). Of course a lot of that has to do with his oppenents, but lets not kid ourselves, Sonnen SOLD those events.
Edit: I was getting those numbers from this site: http://mmapayout.com/blue-book/pay-per-view/
Kinda cool too look at all the events and the numbers they did.
Vote the hell up for these facts AND especially this website!
I've tried to find a good website that shows the UFC PPV numbers and this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
UFC 100 is still far and away Zuffa's biggest event, doing 1.6 million PPVs. And that event was over 6 years ago.
I still find it interesting that Dana told us McGregor vs. Mendes looked like it was going to possibly be the biggest UFC PPV of all time and it ended up doing 825,000, which is about HALF of what UFC 100 did. I'd say it......well.......wasn't close to outdoing UFC 100.