{"id":204323,"date":"2016-09-16T08:18:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=204323"},"modified":"2016-09-16T08:19:28","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:19:28","slug":"scott-coker-gives-brief-reaction-chael-sonnen-signing-bellator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/chael-sonnen\/scott-coker-gives-brief-reaction-chael-sonnen-signing-bellator\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Coker gives brief reaction to Chael Sonnen signing with Bellator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday evening, it was announced that former UfC title challenger Chael Sonnen had officially ended his retirement<\/a>, and signed an exclusive multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.<\/p>\n

At the time of the announcement, there had been no word given as to when Sonnen would be making his Bellator MMA debut, however it was revealed that Sonnen was campaigning for a fight with former UFC champion Tito Ortiz,<\/a> who is coming off a failed bid at the Bellator MMA light heavyweight championship which saw him get submitted by Liam McGeery.<\/p>\n

Ortiz has been on a hiatus from MMA competition since the loss. While there has been no word yet as to when he would return to the Bellator cage, a fight with fellow former UFC star Chael Sonnen could potentially be the fight to help bring ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ back to the cage.<\/p>\n

While the fight is certainly not official, Sonnen would enter his Bellator MMA debut fight on a loss which came at the hands of Rashad Evans at UFC 167. <\/a><\/p>\n

Following the fight, Sonnen coached opposite Wanderlei Silva on TUF Brazil. The season was an action packed one, which saw the two coaches get into a full brawl, which then resulted in both teams getting involved.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Wanderlei Silva was pulled from the fight and replaced with Vitor Belfort. Shortly after that, it was revealed that Sonnen had failed a drug test. After going through the process for failing the drug test, Sonnen was suspended for 2-years.<\/p>\n

Throughout the course of his retirement, Sonnen remained adamant that he was indeed retired, however when he announced his retirement earlier this week, he stated that the reason he lied was because “heels lie.”<\/p>\n

Below is Bellator MMA President Scott Coker’s reaction to the announcement of Sonnen’s signing:<\/p>\n

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Fun times ahead… #BellatorNation<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/3T2DnVW2dB<\/a><\/p>\n

— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) September 16, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n