The UFC and roids: Dana White says he's not the boss, the government is

Dana White finally got to vent about Chael Sonnen's positive drug test and one-year suspension handed down by the California State Athletic Commission. He's not happy with the criticism lobbed his way. Some fans and MMA bloggers think it's time for White to put his foot down about steroids in the sport. White said he's not the guy who makes the decisions, it's the state commissions.

"The commission could give a flying rat's ass about what I think," White told the media gathered at the UFC 119 prefight presser. "They oversee me! They tell me what I'm going to do."

White said stop comparing him to guys like NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA commissioner David Stern.

"People say you're the commissioner of the sport. Here's the reality, the government tells my fighters what's going to happen to them," said White. "The big misconception that Dana White runs the athletic commissions couldn't be further from the truth so I have to sit back now and see what happens with Chael Sonnen."

White told Ariel Helwani of mmafighting.com that there's a lot more to the Sonnen story and that we all need to wait until the appeal is heard by the California State Athletic Commission. But he did state that Sonnen has always been a standup guy and reiterated what he told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole last week. White said various commission's penalties are severe enough. White doesn't want to pile on fighters who violate drug rules. But he did take time to point out the difference between violators like Chael Sonnen and former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett.

"People are all going to make mistakes. I judge you by how you react to the mistakes you make," said White. "There's guys out there like Josh Barnett. Josh Barnett tested positive three times and this guy denies it every time. Everybody's a liar but him. I just saw an interview he did where he said he could really give a [expletive] about anybody else but himself. And that's why Josh Barnett isn't and will never be in the UFC. This isn't the kind of guy that I respect or want to do business with."

Barnett recently signed a deal with Strikeforce. He tested positive in 2002 after UFC 36 and was stripped of his title. He also tested positive in 2009 before a scheduled fight for Affliction against Fedor Emelianenko.

Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe Heikki Mikkola Auguste Mingels Marty Moates