The Bottom Line: Chael Sonnen’s Perfect Match

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Bellator MMA over the past couple years has sought to raise its stature in the sport by aggressively courting free-agent fighters. Abandoning the build-from-within approach of founder Bjorn Rebney, Bellator has become increasingly defined by fighters who rose to prominence elsewhere. The company has successfully signed a number of stars, from Josh Thomson and Phil Davis to Benson Henderson and Rory MacDonald. There hasn’t been an overarching theme to the signings; Bellator is simply interested in signing anyone it deems to be marketable and available.

Just like going after the best free agents available in the NFL, targeting the best free-agent fighters can sometimes lead to less than ideal fits. Henderson, as an example, doesn’t seem to have a clear direction in Bellator and hasn’t been a big difference maker thus far as a result. It’s rare that the best free agent available fits perfectly with the new organization he joins. Luckily for Bellator, that’s precisely the case with its newest signing, Chael Sonnen.

One of the best talkers and biggest personalities in the sport, Sonnen had a fundamental problem in the Ultimate Fighting Championship: The UFC is built around championships and Sonnen was out of the title mix. Title losses at light heavyweight and middleweight left him on the outside of the title picture in both divisions, and that was before a nearly three-year hiatus from the sport. That reality limited Sonnen’s options for high-profile fights because most of the most marketable potential opponents are in that immediate title picture.

In Bellator, the calculus is different. Bellator is built more around personalities than titles, a great situation for a personality like Sonnen. His fights can be marketed as the biggest events on the calendar for Bellator in the way they couldn’t for the UFC. That means there’s a lot more upside as far as the amount of interest that can be generated. The UFC and Bellator are running different business models, and Sonnen is better suited to Bellator’s than the UFC’s at this stage of his career. Sonnen also has enough credibility for his ability in competition that it won’t undermine anything else Bellator is doing.

Making the situation even better, Sonnen has some great potential opponents in Bellator. Tito Ortiz is a natural first opponent, two larger than life stars who have never fought before and with the outcome very much in doubt. It’s the sort of matchup that Ortiz has been seeking for years. Win or lose, Sonnen could then potentially fight Wanderlei Silva in a grudge match that has been brewing for years. Sonnen-Silva if it catches fire could have the most fan interest of any Bellator fight in history. There still are serious issues to be worked through for Silva, but it’s a big upside fight if it can be put together.

The upsides for Sonnen and Bellator don’t end there. Sonnen’s contract as a fight analyst with ESPN might lead the network to consider giving coverage to Sonnen’s Bellator fights. That would be a big breakthrough for Bellator if it could pull it off, as ESPN’s UFC coverage has been a major factor in boosting the buy rates for the UFC’s biggest cards. The connection certainly could not hurt and obviously there are no issues like there would have been were Sonnen still working for Fox.

Sonnen fighting in Bellator has another, slightly darker, upside. It means Sonnen won’t be subject to year-round United States Anti-Doping Agency drug testing. For a multiple-time past violator, that is no small issue. Now, the pressure of rigorous testing won’t hang over his head. It’s not laudable that Sonnen would want to avoid that, but it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t consider that a positive. Moreover, the upside of that policy does not apply only to Sonnen; it also applies to Bellator.

It’s not the most noble of paths forward, but Bellator could over time gain a competitive advantage by becoming a relatively safe haven for fighters running from stricter drug testing. That would help give it an edge against the UFC in the minds of some fighters who are scared by potential two-year bans, particularly towards the end of their careers. Sonnen fits that mold, and it makes Bellator a more attractive option for him. Just like Bellator is more willing than the UFC to allow marketable but badly faded, repeatedly knocked out or poorly conditioned fighters to continue fighting, Sonnen can fit into Bellator’s Wild West approach to MMA promotion.

Sonnen faces some real competitive challenges returning to action at age 39 with one win since the beginning of 2012. However, the best place for him to accept those challenges is in Bellator. MMA is more fun when Sonnen is a part of it, and the final chapter of Sonnen’s career could prove to be a compelling one in his new home.