Bellator 207/208: Chael Sonnen must defeat Fedor Emelianenko to avoid legacy of loss to three GOATs as 58 fighters compete in two-day bonanza

Fifty-eight fighters, 48 hours, two different states. Press conferences and workout days in Manhattan, weigh-ins in Long Island and fight nights looping like an arcing kick across the state lines from New York up to the forested reservations of Connecticut. 

Such is the ambition Bellator MMA has shown with back-to-back events on consecutive nights in New York and Connecticut with its numbered 207 and 208 shows this weekend, in the midst of a madcap three weeks for the mixed martial arts world. Now all that is left is for the fighters themselves to deliver. 

The four headliners competing in the Bellator heavyweight grand prix tournament semi-finals went in front of the media here mid-week, at the headquarters of Viacom, which has invested heavily in the fight league after acquiring it. 

On Saturday night, on Long Island, the sport's best talker Chael Sonnen faces the quiet legend of Fedor Emelianenko, now 42, but regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the sport's history.

Sonnen has literally and figuratively been through the mill in his 20-year career - 30-15-1. From being busted for testosterone  replacement therapy, which he claimed at the time he had sought permission for due to hypergonadism, to running as a Republican candidate, to claiming that he was bidding to buy the WWE for $700 million, Sonnen is the ultimate survivor. 

The southpaw with abundant tenacity, decent hands and great wrestling will need all of that against the Russian's explosive, sudden attacks, and power.   

“Fedor’s great. A lot of people say he’s the best heavyweight of all time. I’m one of those people, but the best heavyweight of all time is about to take on the best fighter of all time,” said Sonnen, who is also a broadcaster for ESPN and Paramount, which airs the Bellator events.

"I’m a believer. I never bought into any anti-Fedor hype. I think he’s had some problems with some really big guys like Big Foot Silva. I think he had some size issue. I watched him fight Frank Mir and saw him pull himself back up and I respected that.”

Emelianenko said little to the media this week other than he "could not be  offended" by  the American's trash-talking claiming that he had not even seen the actions of his fellow Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov's involvement in the trouble at the T-Mobile last weekend with a certain Irishman  - but the former long-reigning heavyweight champion looked very sharp and focused in the workouts. The room falls to stillness when he enters. His presence is, it has to be recorded, remains mesmerising. The man has an aura.

“These are the fights (Fedor) that motivate me," explained Sonnen, the best talker in MMA, and a man who has a fighting resume which will include not just this great Russian heavyweight (record 37-5-1) when it ends, but Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, two of the other true greats from this era.

Yet the Oregon farming-country athlete, who dug ditches with his late father as a boy, and who developed a work ethic as gristly as any other in his days as a wrestler, was defeated by both of them.

By Silva twice, indeed, the first time after dominating the Brazilian for four and a half rounds in Oakland, eight years ago, before suffering a late submission. And it irks him still.  

"My career will end the same way it started -- as a fan," explained Sonnen, who calls himself the 'American Gangster'. In truth, he is more a series of powerful sayings and cliches, turning on the charm and the heat in equal measure. It makes him extremely likeable. He is more 'Media Mogul', as he labels himself on twitter. For example, part of his mask of abundant ego is having  650,000 followers. And follows no one.

That's Sonnen. He's different. Follows no one but himself. And it has served him well. He has carved a huge niche in the sport. 

 "I’m jealous watching someone compete. I only have one resentment in this sport and that’s that we only get to do it three times a year," he explained. "I hate that. As a wrestler we’d have five to six matches a week, have 30 matches a month. I take my coach with me if I ever have to travel. I was in California a couple of weeks ago. I worked out with Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov."

"My head trainer lives in Las Vegas. If there's one thing about MMA, it’s a very small community. But this tournament’s a little bit different. I feel like I’m speaking for everyone, but I’ll speak for myself. We didn’t choose to fight one another, you advance in a straight line, there’s no animosity. It’s different, it’s a different feel, it’s what I’m used to and I like it. ”

Sonnen says he "despises" being known as 'a good guy'. "I will do anything to get out of that role. It’s inaccurate. I’m the biggest heel this sport has. I may look nice, but I promise you it’s a disguise, I’m a snake with blue eyes.”

On Friday night, in the other Bellator heavyweight tournament grand prix semi-final, Matt Mitrione, a former NFL player, fights Ryan Bader. An All-American match-up.

“I think Mitrione has some really clear ways to win, but we’re all fighting for a world championship. And Ryan Bader is already a champion (at light-heavyweight)," says Sonnen the analyst. 

"It’s an interesting match and I like what Mitrione says, if he hits Bader he’s going to be in trouble. I like what Bader says, he’s good at what Matt’s weaknesses are - wrestling. I think these guys need to figure it out on their own.”

But then Sonnen is back on the subject of facing the G.O.A.T. of heavyweights: “I’ve never thought of it like that but pehaps I should have a little more appreciation. One thing I never had in my career, and I do regret it, is that I never had any fun. I look back at those moments and wish I had enjoyed them more, but competition is the only thing I know."

"In the wrestling world you’d take on those big names two to three times in one season. You’d have four of five seasons alone in college. I will take any match. You can bring me a bum or bring me a champion and I’ll treat them all the same.”

“This tournament will change someone’s legacy. I always resist the term 'legacy', it’s a fair [term] but I just resist it. I had a great college career, had some great memories and was an All-American. But aside from just now, I don’t think I’ve said those words in 20 years."

"I don’t want to be remembered for something I used to do. As my life moves on I want to have new goals, so I’m not a big legacy guy. But personally, I can tell you from losses I’ve had, they kept me up and hurt me bad. I do everything to avoid them and I would like to win this match.” He was referring, no doubt, to the first loss to Silva.

There is a harshness from Sonnen about fighters, too. “I’ve thought about leaving the sport. I have a real frustration with where this sport is at. For us older guys who would do anything for an opportunity at any time, it’s very hard for us to look at the locker room today where guys need carrots dangled in front of their face."

"They’re pulling out of fights, missing weight and coming up with excuses. I don’t know that feeling. I used to fight at the dog park for no money, begging to get in there. It was all about intrinsic value."

"There was no fame and no money. If you took the fame and money out of this sport, some of us will still show up. It’s like the Olympic games, the right guy shows up every four years. How do I want to be remembered ? I want to set the example for the industry, you either want to do this or you don’t ... and if you don’t get the hell out of the way, let someone else take your spot.”

If Sonnen makes Saturday his night, he can crow until the cows come home in Oregon.