After much deliberation it has now been confirmed that “The American Gangster” Chael Sonnen will be coming back to MMA.
Sonnen has signed an exclusive multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA and will join the promotions Light Heavyweight division.
Having last competed in an MMA bout at UFC 167 in November 2013, Sonnen sat on the sidelines after some failed drug tests and it seemed as though a return to competitive MMA action was out of the question. Sonnen has kept active competing in grappling matches for Metamoris and after serving his suspension is now back and ready to make an impact on the 205lbs Bellator division.
So in typical #WHOATV we have reviewed the current Bellator roster and come up with five fights we would like to see to welcome “The Bad Guy” to the Bellator cage;
Wanderlei Silva
Well this fight just has to happen and Bellator now have the golden opportunity to make the fight that never come to fruition in the UFC. Whilst the heat between these two has died down since, I suspect it won’t take long for Sonnen to reignite the spark and fire some shots at Wanderlei over social media. This fight on the scale of things doesn’t really matter and will not be pushing either guys into a Title shot but it’s fair to say that both men are probably more interested in the “money fights” now compared to a Title run. It also gives Bellator the opportunity to put on a bout that the UFC didn’t (not through any thought of their own) and I think that alone will be a good enough reason to get this fight made sooner rather than later.
Quinton Jackson
This fight should be made for the pre-fight trash talking alone. Could you imagine Rampage and Sonnen going back and forth on the microphone at a press conference if this one was ever signed? On a competitive basis it would be intriguing to see if Sonnen would be able to implement his wrestling on the bigger man, likewise whether or not Rampage could get his hands on Sonnen. Rampage is 4-0 under the Bellator banner at the moment and has been bouncing between Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight, but if you could get this bout signed at Light Heavyweight you could bet your bottom dollar that Sonnen would be signing on the dotted line.
Tito Ortiz
There is absolutely no denying that Tito Ortiz Vs Chael Sonnen would sell PPV’s and I would definitely spend my money to watch this one. Both these guys come from a wrestling background and I genuinely think that this would be one of the more intriguing bouts on this list given the fighting style of both. Tito wasn’t able to secure the Gold in his last bout and therefore think he will be more open to these type of bouts and for Sonnen it would give him the opportunity to put another “big name” on his record. Arguably this fight 8 years ago would have been an absolute barnburner, but one I would be happy to watch at any time of their respective careers.
Phil Davis
Appreciate that its 99.999999% certain that Davis will be fighting for the Title next but its definitely a bout I would like to see. This would be a very competitive outing and whilst Davis would have age and athleticism on his side, you can never count out Sonnen when it comes to grappling. He would be giving up a huge reach advantage to Davis but most do and given the opportunity to compete with the top Light Heavyweight in the division would definitely be an attractive proposition for Sonnen. Again I think there is probably other fights to be made before this one is contemplated but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing this fight take place under the Bellator lights.
Fedor Emelianenko
Because why the hell not? Bellator have a great relationship with Fedor and you could guarantee that Sonnen would take this fight at any weight class. Fedor looked a shadow of his former self in his last bout with Fabio Maldonado and it would be a very winnable fight for Sonnen, although he would be giving up a lot of size. Fedor runs the risk of damaging any legacy he has ever built up by taking on fights against nobodies (Singh Jaideep) and with Sonnen he has the chance to take on a very credible opponent. Fedor isn’t known for his pre-fight trash talking but neither was Anderson Silva and look how much Sonnen was able to build that fight alone. Contractual issues may prevent this one in terms of timing for Sonnen’s debut with the promotion but would love to see this at some stage down the line.