Bellator boss Scott Coker comments on Chael Sonnen acquisition, teases Fedor Emelianenko fight

By now, the mixed martial arts (MMA) community is aware that former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight (and light heavyweight) number one contender, Chael Sonnen, has joined the ranks of Bellator MMA and will make his Spike TV debut later this year.

To find out how this pairing came to be, click here.

"Chael is an incredible athlete that has competed at the very highest levels of the sport," Bellator MMA President Scott Coker said in today's release. "I know that he is going to continue to do just that here at Bellator. When we were in the process of signing him, Chael was adamant that he wants to compete in three divisions here."

Middleweight, light heavyweight, and even heavyweight -- for the right opponent.

"He already has unfinished business with Wanderlei Silva, but he also wants to fight guys like Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko and even Rory MacDonald at middleweight," Coker continued. "These are all fights that I'd be very inclined to watch, so hopefully we can put some, if not all of these matchups together starting before the end of the year."

I'm sure the timing is purely coincidental.

Emelianenko, who already competed for Coker under the Strikeforce banner, is currently a free agent and expected to make a decision on when (and where) he'll fight later this month. While RIZIN is also throwing its name into the "Emperor's" hat, there's no reason these two promotions can't work together.

Again.

Many good fights for Chael at HW in all those divisions. It was a great signing. Looking forward to seeing him there.

A lot has changed since this post. Chael will make his debut next year and Fedor's situation is complicated to say the least.