When Chael Sonnen signed with Bellator MMA in 2016, there was a clause put in his contract that if he failed any drug test while in the promotion, he would lose 100% of his fight purse and also pay a fine of $500,00, plus face any rulings for the athletic commission overseeing an event -- at least according to Sonnen himself.
As far as his first foray into Bellator MMA and drug testing goes, Sonnen passed with flying colors, as he was tested for every banned substance by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
WADA did conduct the test for the CSAC and according to CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster, Sonnen was tested for a “full WADA panel.”
Sonnen will be making his Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 170 this coming January, he will be in the main event against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Ortiz recently announced that he will be retiring at the event -- the two have been rivals since their amateur wrestling days.
Sonnen has failed drug tests before, both times in the UFC. The first time came after he lost a middleweight title fight to the champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117. The second one was a pre-fight drug test prior to UFC 175, where he was set to face Wanderlei Silva, where Silva would also have his issues with the athletic commission as well.
Bellator 170 takes place on Saturday, January 21 from the Forum in Inglewood, California with Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz headlining.
