Veteran MMA fighter Chael Sonnen confirmed to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press (via the Seattle Times) on Thursday that he has left the UFC and signed a multiyear deal with Bellator. 

UFC President Dana White confirmed to ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto that the UFC recently signed a release for Sonnen. 

On Friday, Sonnen said his contract states that if he fails a drug test he will lose his entire purse and an additional $500,000, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting. 

"I had all of those [money] and ratings records when I retired," Sonnen said, per MMA Fighting. "I lost them all, and I'm here to get them all back. ALL."

The 39-year-old Sonnen is 29-14-1 but hasn't fought in a UFC event since 2013—in a bout that resulted in a first-round TKO loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 167. He was suspended in July 2014 for two years because of two failed drug tests before his UFC 175 fight against Wanderlei Silva.

He spent the interim working as an analyst for ESPN and announced his return in simple terms:

Shortly after his suspension, Sonnen announced his retirement in June 2014. But in March 2016, his manager, Mike Roberts, all but guaranteed Sonnen would come back when he became eligible July 23, per Helwani (via MMA Fighting's Dave Doyle).

Competing at the middleweight and light heavyweight levels in the UFC, Sonnen couldn't win a title. 

In 2007, he lost out on the WEC middleweight belt to Paulo Filho. He then lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 117 and UFC 148 before Jon Jones knocked him out at UFC 159 in April 2013. 

With his last win coming nearly three years ago, questions are sure to arise about what kind of fighting shape Sonnen is in and just how effective he could be at 39 years old.

Per the AP, Sonnen will not ask for a specific opponent and will fight at any weight Bellator requests. 

Stats courtesy of UFC.com.