Bellator’s Chael Sonnen admits that he would love to see Conor McGregor vs. Georges St-Pierre happen and would welcome further inter-weight clashes
While the rumors are nothing more than just that right now, Sonnen believes that the world of MMA could massively benefit from cross-division clashes.
“American Gangster” has frequently suggested that he would be open to the idea of facing another UFC to Bellator convert in Rory MacDonald, believing that the difference in weight (Sonnen currently fights at Light Heavyweight while MacDonald is a welterweight) could be negotiated in order to make it happen.
Sonnen believes that these type of clashes, which have been done before (think Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva or the once possible Jon Jones vs. Brock Lesnar) can only be good for the sport:
“Just before you and I got on the phone today I was reading something about a St-Pierre versus McGregor matchup, and I love that,” Sonnen told BJ Penn Radio. “I have a little bit of resentment because of the fights that we missed because of where the sport was at, and [the UFC] specifically, they weren’t willing to change guys’ weight classes.”
Sonnen believes that Bellator may be more open to the idea of these types of fights and praised Bellator President Scott Coker for his open-minded approach to them:
“What comes to mind is Matt Hughes versus Anderson Silva, also Anderson Silva versus Jon Jones. Those were matchups that the athletes were willing to do, the fighters wanted to see, the media wanted to see, but the promotion was pretty locked in on the policy of everybody stays in their own division.
“I’m happy to see where the sport’s going,” Sonnen said. “Scott Coker specifically, if there’s a big matchup and the fans want to see it, he’ll sign it.”
