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Why Chael Sonnen will have an easier time chasing big paydays than a title

There are two things every fighter wants: money and a championship.

Chael Sonnen has made plenty of money in his mixed martial arts career, primarily thanks to a quick wit and his ability to talk into a microphone.

But as the end of an MMA career that began in 1997 beckons, Sonnen is still chasing that elusive championship. Oh, he won the Dangerzone light heavyweight title in 2002 and the Gladiator Challenge light heavyweight belt a year later, but those were regional belts and not equivalent to a world title in a major promotion.

Sonnen, who will be 40 on April 3, doesn’t have much time left. Randy Couture was 44 years, two months and two days old when he successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 74 on Aug. 25, 2007.

He’s the only man to win a title bout in a major promotion who was older than Sonnen is now.

Sonnen fights Tito Ortiz on Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in the main event of Bellator 170, which will be televised live on Spike. And while it’s a fight that will undoubtedly pay him well, it’s not a title.

Sonnen, who was 0-4 in UFC/World Extreme Cagefighting title fights, signed with Bellator last year and has a series of potential fights that could make him big money, but his path to the title is narrow because of his age and his anti-doping history.

Because of his name recognition – not only did he compete in the UFC for many years, but he worked on TV broadcasts on Fox Sports 1 and now ESPN, and he’s appearing on the current season of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” – he’s among the best-known fighters in the world.

Chael Sonnen will fight Tito Ortiz in the main event of Bellator 170. (Getty)
Chael Sonnen will fight Tito Ortiz in the main event of Bellator 170. (Getty)

And that makes him a candidate for the so-called “tent-pole” matches that Bellator president Scott Coker likes to create. Those are fights that don’t necessarily have any divisional significance – think the late Kimbo Slice against both Ken Shamrock and Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris – and which are often referred to derisively as circus fights.

But Coker, who has a brilliant eye for talent and has signed a number of promising young prospects he’s cultivating, believes he can use the popularity of the athletes in his tent-pole matches to gain exposure for the fighters he believes will be his next-gen stars.

That leads to the question of whether Saturday’s bout is a tent-pole match or one that has divisional and title implications.

For Ortiz, it’s a celebration of a career that has already landed him in the UFC Hall of Fame. He’s one of the biggest names in the brief history of the sport and said he’ll retire after Saturday’s match with Sonnen.

For Sonnen, it’s trickier. Asked about his goals in Bellator, he was unequivocal.

“I want to compete at Bellator,” he said. “I want to be a champion, get to the top and compete with all the guys. I want to find a weight class. I’d like to do it at 205 pounds, but I think there’s an opportunity at 185 and now we have some big signings at heavyweight and catchweight, too. I just think there’s a lot of opportunity over here.

“I can tell you as far as training, working hard and being prepared, that’s what I do. I do it every day. I will bring my skills to the fight and if they’re enough I’ll win; If they’re not, I won’t. That’s just the way that this sport is played and I’m just looking forward to competing with these guys.”

That would seem to indicate this is no lark and that he has his eyes on serious fights against top contenders and isn’t pursuing crazy bouts like one against the long, long over-the-hill Wanderlei Silva.

But he also noted that he’s been “chasing” Silva around, planting the seed for a fight between the two one-time coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter.”

And he was quick to notice the potential tent-pole matches that are available to him if he wants to go that route.

“Look, I’m brand new [to Bellator],” Sonnen said. “I only know a few guys at Bellator. I know three people, that’s how new I am. I’ve been to two Bellator shows; one at Mohegan Sun Arena and one in San Jose. Both events were sold out. When I was in San Jose, I was sitting there and down the ramp comes the greatest heavyweight of all time, Fedor Emelianenko. Coker signed him and didn’t even say anything to anybody. The place was packed and the ratings were going higher. I wanted to come to Bellator when I saw Ken Shamrock walk the ramp and I thought, ‘This is awesome. Connecticut and then California, both sides of the country and both sold out.’

“The household name that Bellator has become is amazing. I used to have to explain to people what UFC and what MMA was. When I tell people I’m with Bellator, they know exactly what it is. When Tito and I met in that college wrestling match, there was 80 people there, tops. Nobody cared. It was a big sacrifice just to show off in front of 80 people. To show off in front of a sold-out arena, a record-breaking show, is fun.”

Chael Sonnen turns 40 on April 3. (AP)
Chael Sonnen turns 40 on April 3. (AP)

Sonnen’s position is complicated by his checkered past regarding his usage of performance-enhancing drugs. He’s had multiple failed tests, and lied about them on national television, which led to him being fired by Fox Sports 1 from his position as an MMA analyst.

He’s among the most significant drug cheats in sports history.

If Sonnen can stay clean, he’ll bring Bellator big ratings for as long as his body holds up. Don’t be surprised if Bellator gets one of the top television ratings in its history on Saturday, given the notoriety that both Sonnen and Ortiz bring.

Sonnen has already been tested randomly by the California State Athletic Commission, and has passed. He’ll be repeatedly tested by whichever commission has jurisdiction over his future fights, which he understands.

He had, he said, no issue with California’s test.

“I was surprised by it,” Sonnen said of CSAC’s random test. “That’s why the test works. I was not ready to be tested and I didn’t know that I was going to be tested and I haven’t thought about it a whole lot. You have to understand that when you’re a guy with my background that’s just coming off a suspension, that’s the way it goes. You’re going to have more tests than other guys and that’s just fair.”

One more positive test and his career will be over. But given he’ll be 40 by the time he fights again, assuming he gets past Ortiz, his health will also be a question.

Guys his age are injured at a higher rate than those in their mid-20s. And that complicates his desire to win a title.

Have little doubt that Sonnen will take whatever title shot he can get in Bellator, because a win will inalterably change the historical perception of him.

He’d have that title on his record forever, though it won’t be easy because Phil Davis and Rafael Carvalho would be formidable foes. And it wouldn’t be strange to see Sonnen try to win the heavyweight title, because it’s vacant.

A Sonnen-Emelianenko bout for the vacant Bellator heavyweight title would be a massive show for the promotion and isn’t totally out of the question.

The odds are long for him, though, because of both his age and his drug-testing history.

If he can defy those odds, and remain healthy and PED-free, then he just may give himself that one final shot at the elusive championship belt.