Yahoo Sports rips at Bellator MMA and Chael Sonnen after news of multi-fight deal signing

Big news hit the MMA community late Thursday when the Associated Press released the news that former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen freshly inked a deal with Bellator MMA.

Sonnen, who just became eligible to fight again after a two-year suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission for testing positive for multiple banned substances admitted his use of performance enhancing drugs was called “one of the worst drug cheats in the history of professional sports” by Yahoo Sports.

The report from Yahoo also states, “Sonnen, who has shown he’ll cheat without compunction at the slightest opportunity, has joined a promotion that essentially acts as if there is no performance enhancing drug issue in mixed martial arts.”

With the UFC partnered with USADA to perform their drug testing, Bellator MMA solely uses the state athletic commissions to perform the drug testing for fighters during their bouts. As Yahoo Sports puts it, “Bellator has no drug testing program and no known plans to add one. And so, perhaps, it’s not surprising that Sonnen chose to sign with Bellator upon his return.”

Sonnen has been open and has admitted his guilt since being caught.

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Sonnen commented on his recent drug tests performed by USADA.

“That’s the thing. You only get called if you fail the test,” Sonnen claimed. “If you called these guys up like I want to do and say ‘Hey are those results back?’ They start going, ‘Why? Why would you not know that you are going to pass?’

“Guys! It’s because I took everything in the world that you can’t take! Will you just tell me if I passed or not and every time I ask someone like that they act like it’s the most corrupt question in the world.”

While UFC fighters such as Michael Bisping and Mark Hunt have made statements to say they no longer want any part in a fight against known performance enhancing drug users, no Bellator fighters have yet made any fuss about Chael Sonnen signing on to the Bellator roster.