What’s the story?
Chael Sonnen was once one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster, but after a string of failed drug tests ‘The Bad Guy’ was forced to retire from MMA competition. Now that he’s terminated his contract with the UFC, and signed with rival promotion Bellator MMA, Sonnen is now focused on his upcoming match with Tito Ortiz and wants to eventually fulfill a promise he made to his father before he passed away.
In case you didn’t know...
Sonnen announced his retirement from the sport of MMA in 2014 after receiving a two year ban from the sport after abusing performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). After his suspension was up much speculation began to rise as to whether or not Sonnen would make a return to the Octagon, and he shook up the world when he terminated his UFC contract to sign with up and coming rival promotion Bellator MMA.
The heart of the matter
Here’s what Sonnen had to say about his promise to his father before he passed away:
“When my dad died the last thing I ever said to him – I said ‘I’m going to beat Tito Ortiz, and Ima win the world championship.’ That’s the only promise I never – it’s the only promise I never kept. But Ima make it fight on January 21st. “
What’s next?
‘The Bad Guy’ has his hands full with former champion Tito Ortiz later this month, and is also desperately calling for a match with longtime rival Wanderlei Silva when his program with Ortiz is up. If Sonnen can rack up two big wins against these two legends, he may be on his way to a shot at Bellator’s light heavyweight title.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
Sonnen is a true legend of the sport who was one of the first trash-talking geniuses to propel himself into championship contention. If he is able to cap off a great career with a world title in Bellator, and perhaps a farewell bout in the UFC, it would be a great way to wrap up a legendary career.
You can check out Sonnen talking about his father here:
