One of Canada’s top welterweight talents, Ryan ‘The Real Deal’ Ford (17-4) appears finally set to make his Bellator Fighting Championship debut after signing with the Chicago based promotion last summer.
According to Sherdog.com, Ford will step into a Bellator cage in May versus Season Five welterweight tournament semi-finalist Luis ‘Sapo’ Santos (50-7-1) as part of the Bellator 67 show.
Bellator 67 is expected to take place on May 4th at the Casino Rama Hotel and Casino in Rama, Ontario. The visit will be Bellator’s second North of the border during season six. No official announcement has been made by the promotion at time of writing but fans can be sure this bout will appear on the main television broadcast on MTV2.
Ford is 1-1 in his last two matches but is 5-1 in his last six. His last bout took place earlier this month at a local event in his native Edmonton, Alberta which saw ‘The Real Deal’ earn a first round TKO win over Ricky Goodall at an Aggression MMA 9 event. Ford is known for his explosive power in the first round, finishing eight of his seventeen opponents before the bell.
Santos is a very experienced veteran with fifty-eight career bouts under his belt, finishing thirty-six of those opponents by (T)KO or by submission. ‘Sapo’ was part of Bellator’s Season Five welterweight tournament, eliminating Dan Hornbuckle by decision in the quarterfinals, but wasn’t able to get past finalist Ben Saunders in the second round, falling to ‘Killa B’ via keylock submission in the third round.