Bellator 170: “Ortiz vs. Sonnen” comes to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on Jan. 21, 2017. The main event is a light heavyweight showdown between two legends of trash talking with prior experience in UFC: the “Bad Guy” Chael Sonnen and the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz.
No other fights have officially been announced by Bellator MMA, which isn’t surprising given the card is still months away, but that didn’t stop Brett Okamoto of ESPN from getting a scoop on the debut of a fighter from a famous family.
As reported on Sportscenter’s TKOkamoto, Ralek Gracie has signed a deal with Bellator MMA. Targeting a fight on Jan. 21 in California.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 26, 2016
For those who don’t know, Gracie is the founder of the Metamoris promotion, which features jiu-jitsu matches with 20-minute time limits between the world’s top grapplers. He’s also 3-0 as a pro in MMA, though he hasn’t fought since beating the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba at DREAM 14 back in 2010.
At only 31 years old, Gracie has plenty of time to step into a Bellator cage and go on a run through the promotion, and as the nephew of both Rickson and Royce Gracie, he’ll have plenty of family to back him up.
Gracie’s opponent has not yet been named so stay tuned for further developments.
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