Bellator Signs Top Former UFC Superstar, UFC Fight Night 94 Weigh-In Results
- Despite having never won UFC gold, Chael Sonnen has carved out his place in MMA history with his unique brand of trash talk. Now, Sonnen will get the opportunity to continue his career with Bellator MMA, signing an exclusive fight contract late Thursday night with the promotion.
Sonnen last fought in 2013, as he was set to meet Wanderlei Silva two years ago before a failed drug test ended his career. The former UFC middleweight and lightweight title contender announced his retirement shortly there after. He is 29-14-1 overall in his career with wins over current UFC middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping, former UFC champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and his near-upset of then-champion Anderson Silva.
"I'm consistently blown away by the product and presentation that Bellator is bringing to the fans," Sonnen said. "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."
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker stated that Sonnen will likely fight at light heavyweight, but could be in line for several "super-fights" with the Spike-based promotion.
"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."
- Weigh-ins for Saturday's UFC Fight Night 94 event took place earlier this morning. The main event features lightweight Dustin Poirier and Michael Johnson live on FOX Sports 1 from the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. Other planned fights include Uriah Hall vs. Derek Brunson and Evan Dunham vs. Rick Glenn.
MAIN CARD (FS1/10 p.m. ET)
*Michael Johnson (154.5 lbs.) vs. Dustin Poirier (156)
*Derek Brunson (186) vs. Uriah Hall (185.5)
*Evan Dunham (156) vs. Rick Glenn (154.5)
*Roan Carneiro (171) vs. Kenny Robertson (170.5)
*Islam Makhachev (155.5) vs. Chris Wade (156)
*Maximo Blanco (145.5) vs. Chas Skelly (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1/8 p.m. ET)
*Gabriel Benitez (145.5) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
*Augusto Montano (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.5)
*Antonio Carlos Jr. (185) vs. Leonardo Augusto Leleco (186)
*Joey Gomez (135) vs. Jose Quinonez (134.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/7 p.m. ET)
*Randy Brown (171) vs. Erick Montano (171)
*Albert Morales (135) vs. Alejandro Perez (135)