The Bottom Line: Chael Sonnen’s Perfect Match

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.* * * 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 …

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