Former UFC competitor Chael Sonnen made a transition into competing promotion Bellator MMA back in 2017, going on to make his debut against Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170. With it having been one year and a day since the fighter’s Bellator debut, the time has come to take a look at the ever changing physique of the former UFC fighter.
Chael Sonnen has gained an infamous reputation for his multiple run ins with drug testers. The fighter was first suspended by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for a drug test related to Sonnen’s 2010 match up against Anderson Silva.
Sonnen failed the drug test for having a testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio 17 times higher than that of an average male, over four times the allowed ratio for competition.
Sonnen was set to face Wanderlei Silva at UFC 175 back in 2014. However, the fight would never come to pass. Silva failed to submit a drug test, forcing the fighter to be removed from the bout.
Sonnen would later be removed from the bout as well for failing his drug test. The NSAC would later reveal that Sonnen had failed a third drug test for human growth hormone (HGH), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), anastrozole, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Among the collection of banned substances, EPO was also an admitted substance used by world famous athlete Lance Armstrong.
The NSAC would go on to determine that Chael Sonnen should be suspended from fighting for two years for his multiple failed drug tests. The UFC terminated Sonnen’s contract.
With the rise of the UFC’s new watchdog, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, fighters are now under a higher level of scrutiny than ever. With that in mind, Sonnen has gone on to fight under the Bellator banner, in which USADA’s reign is not enforced.
Now a year into his career under the Bellator banner, Sonnen’s physique has begun to make some changes. The fighter faced off against Tito Ortiz as a light heavyweight, while most recently having fought Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as a heavyweight.
Check out a side-by-side of Sonnen’s Bellator 170 weigh-in for his fight against Tito Ortiz as compared to his Bellator 192 weigh-in one year and a day later for his fight against “Rampage” Jackson at heavyweight down below:
Chael Sonnen gearing up for Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170:
Chael Sonnen getting ready for “Rampage” Jackson at Bellator 192:
