This evening (Saturday, January 21, 2017) will mark a rare occurence of a weekend featuring a major MMA event not staged by the UFC when returning UFC star Chael Sonnen takes on fellow former UFC great Tito Ortiz in the featured bout of Bellator 170 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Fan favorite trash talker Sonnen will return to mixed martial arts over three years since he last lost to Rashad Evans in a beating back at UFC 167. To put it in perspective, that was also the last card legendary welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre fought at. “The Bad Guy” then ‘retired’ under the weight of a monstrous steroid scandal heading into his long-awaited bout with Wanderlei Silva.
He’ll return to face Ortiz, the former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion who has been a decorated resume but has seemingly been fading for years now. His results since signing with Bellator are mixed, as he’s put forth bouts including a disappointing submission loss to Bellator champ Liam McCgeary, a submission win over an undersized Alexander Shlemenko, and a ho-hum split decision over fellow former UFC competitor Stephan Bonnar after a strange but ultimately selling build-up.
It’s the kind of card that you love to hate and can’t look away from. in the co-main event, Paul Daley will take on Brennan Ward in an underrated bout of knockout hitters that could certainly steal the show. Find out who we picked to win at one of Bellator’s most anticipated events below:
Chael Sonnen vs. Tito Ortiz:
Mike Drahota:
I can’t deny the outright ‘train wreck’ appeal of this fight that probably lost all true relevancy many years ago. But the fight will draw its numbers on the heels of Sonnen and Ortiz’s big names, and Bellator President Scott Coker should continue his formula of using past-prime UFC names to garner viewers to Bellator MMA.
As far as the fight goes, Ortiz has at least been fighting in the past couple of years. He also appeared much bigger and in shape at the weigh-ins, while Sonnen appeared deflated and much less toned compared to his admitted steroid-abusing self. He’s also a former middleweight and looked small for even that division.
With both fighters obviously wrestlers at heart, this fight could play out mostly on the feet, which means it could be ugly. But I think Ortiz will use his size to show the effects of Sonnen’s ring rust, putting him down for a ground and pound stoppage. Ortiz by TKO, R2.
Mike Henken:
This is a difficult fight to predict for me simple because both fighters have been inactive as of late and both fighters are aging as well. Ortiz hasn’t competed since a Sep. 2015 loss to Liam McGeary and Sonnen hasn’t competed since a Nov. 2013 loss to Rashad Evans. Both men are accomplished wrestlers, so I expect this fight to hit the mat at some point. In my opinion, takedowns will be the deciding factor in this bout. I’m going to go with my gut here, and pick Sonnen to land the takedown and batter Ortiz with ground and pound for the majority of the bout. Sonnen by unanimous decision.
Paul Daley vs. Brennan Ward:
Mike Drahota:
There’s not a whole lot more to say about this fight other than it should be the slugfest everyone’s expecting it to be. Both fighters try to knock their opponents out from the bell – and they often throw caution to the wind when doing so. Thanks to his top-level kickboxing experience, Daley is one of the most powerful one-punch knockout strikers in all of MMA, and Ward has looked absolutely vicious and fierce during a recent streak where he’s finished five out of his last six foes. I’ll go out on a limb and pick the younger Ward here. Ward by R1 TKO.
Mike Henken:
The co-main event features an intriguing bout between two welterweight sluggers. Ward has won three of his last bouts and is coming off of a KO win over Saad Awad. Daley, on the other hand, is coming off of a loss, but prior to that he had won five straight with four coming by way of stoppage. I expect this to be a fire fight, and I’m going to predict that “Semtex” lands the bigger shots. Daley by second round TKO.
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