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Friday, Sep 16, 2016

Chael Sonnen Ends Retirement, Signs With Bellator

Chael Sonnen

By FCF Staff

For months there’s been speculation as to whether Chael Sonnen will return to the cage, and now we know the answer is yes, but, it won’t be the Octagon.

Bellator has announced that it has signed Sonnen to a multi-year, multi-fight contract. The announcement also says that the 39 year-old Sonnen will primarily compete in the promotion’s light-heavyweight division.

“I’m consistently blown away by the product and presentation that Bellator is bringing to the fans,” Sonnen was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion. “I’m not nearly done competing and I’m coming after everyone, everywhere. I’m not sticking to one weight class either, I fight at ‘Gangster Weight’ and nobody is safe.”

The announcement comes nearly three years after Sonnen’s last bout in 2013, when he was stopped by Rashad Evans. The outspoken fighter announced his retirement back in 2014, after he tested positive for several banned substances. For months, the former middleweight contender said he had no intention of fighting again, once he was eligible to return in 2016.

“Chael is an incredible athlete that has competed at the very highest levels of the sport,” Bellator MMA President Scott Coker said, “I know that he is going to continue to do just that here at Bellator. When we were in the process of signing him, Chael was adamant that he wants to compete in three divisions here. He already has unfinished business with Wanderlei Silva, but he also wants to fight guys like Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko and even Rory MacDonald at middleweight. These are all fights that I’d be very inclined to watch, so hopefully we can put some, if not all of these matchups together starting before the end of the year.”

Sonnen returns to the sport armed with a pro-record of 28-14-1. No information as to when he’ll make his Bellator debut was announced.

posted by FCF Staff @ 10:21 am
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