The first Bellator event of 2017 will take place on Saturday night in Inglewood, California as Bellator 170 will come from The Forum and will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout as Tito Ortiz steps into MMA competition for the last time when he meets Chael Sonnen.
The matchup between Ortiz and Sonnen will be one of five matchups on the main card on Spike (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) and the most exciting matchup on the card is the co-main event as Brennan Ward will look to continue his rise up the Bellator welterweight division as he meets Paul Daley.
Prior to the main card on Spike, the preliminary card on Bellator.com (6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT) will feature several notable matchups and showcase talent that train in the state of California. Some of the notable matchups include Chinzo Machida vs. Jamar Ocampo, Jack May vs. Dave Cryer, Henry Corrales vs. Cody Bollinger, Kevin Casey vs. Keith Berry and Guilherme Vasconcelos vs. John Mercurio.
Now let’s take a closer look at the five fights that will take place on the main card.
Tito Ortiz (18-12-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (28-14-1)
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will look to leave MMA competition on a high note when he meets “The American Gangster” in the main event of Bellator 170. Since entering Bellator in 2014, Ortiz has gone 2-1 and enters this fight following a submission defeat against former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary.
- Ortiz’s last fight came 16 months ago (490 days).
- Two of his three fights in Bellator have ended in the first round.
- Tied for the most fights in UFC history with Frank Mir and Michael Bisping.
Bellator 170 will mark the promotional debut of Chael Sonnen as he signed with the promotion last year and this will be his first fight since losing to former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. Since 2010, Sonnen has gone 4-4 and two of his last three victories have come by submission.
- This will be Sonnen’s six straight opponent who is or has been a UFC champion.
- Holds a decision victory over current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
- Second-Most takedowns landed (35) in UFC middleweight division history.
Paul Daley (38-14-2) vs. Brennan Ward (14-4)
After having his last fight scratched by the commission following the weigh-ins, Paul Daley returns to the Bellator cage and this will be his first fight since losing a decision to current Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima. Prior to that defeat, he had won five in a row and four of those wins came by TKO/KO.
- Daley is tied with Rick Hawn, Ben Askren, Ben Saunders and Ward for the fourth-most TKO/KO wins in Bellator welterweight division history.
- Won nine of his last eleven fights and eight of those wins have come by TKO/KO.
- Holds a decision victory over current UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal.
Ward is known as one of the most exciting fighters in Bellator to watch and this will be his fourteenth fight in the Bellator cage. Six of his last seven fights have ended in the first round and he is coming off a knockout victory against Saad Awad at Bellator 163.
- Ward is currently tied with Brent Weedman and Bryan Baker for the fourth-most fights in Bellator history.
- Ward’s nine victories in Bellator are tied with Ben Askren, Eddie Alvarez, Will Brooks, Patricky Pitbull and King Mo Lawal for the fifth-most in Bellator history.
- Currently tied with Mike Richman, Patricky Pitbull, Patricio Pitbull and Alexander Shlemenko for the second-most TKO/KO victories in Bellator history.
Ralek Gracie (3-0) vs. Hisaki Kato (7-2)
After being on the sidelines since 2010, Ralek Gracie returns to mixed martial arts competition as he will meet one of the top middleweights in Bellator. His last fight came at Dream 14 against Kazushi Sakuraba and two of his three victories have come by submission.
- Both of his submission victories have come by armbar.
- Gracie’s last fight came 2,429 days ago (6 years, 7 months and 23 days).
Hisaki Kato will be looking for his third straight victory and improve to 3-1 in Bellator when he meets Gracie on Saturday night. All of his career victories have come by TKO/KO and he has never gone to a third round in a fight.
- Kato’s average fight time in MMA competition is 3:18 and total fight time is 29:40.
- Seven of his nine fights have ended in the first round and his longest fight took place at Bellator 139 when he beat Joe Schilling at the :34 mark of the second round.
Georgi Karakhanyan (26-6-1) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (13-3)
After mentioning about potentially moving up to lightweight, Georgi Karakhanyan is staying at featherweight for at least this fight as he takes on Emmanuel Sanchez. Karakhanyan is coming off a TKO victory over Kirill Medvedovsky in November and he is 3-2 since returning to Bellator in 2015.
- Karakhanyan is tied with Shahbulat Shamahalev and A.J. McKee for the third-most TKO/KO wins in Bellator featherweight division history.
- His victory over Bubba Jenkins at Bellator 160 is the eighth-fastest TKO/KO victory in Bellator featherweight division history.
Emmanuel Sanchez made his Bellator debut in 2014 and his last four fights have ended by split decision. He enters Bellator 170 following a defeat against former Bellator title challenger Daniel Weichel and the defeat snapped a three fight winning streak.
- Sanchez has gone to the decision in his last six fights and his last stoppage victory came in his Bellator debut against Stephen Banaszak in 2014.
- Five of his six stoppage victories have come by submission and his only knockout victory came in 2014 against Gustavo Rodriguez.
Derek Anderson (14-2) vs. Derek Campos (17-6)
After having his last fight canceled following weigh-ins due to his opponent being pulled from the card by the commission, Anderson returns to the Bellator cage and will be looking for his third straight victory. Both of his recent wins have come by decision and the most recent victory came in August at Bellator 160 against Saad Awad.
- Anderson has two victories against former Bellator title challenger Patricky Pitbull.
- Eleven of his fourteen wins have come by stoppage (5 TKO/KO, 6 Submissions).
Just like Anderson, Campos enters this fight following back to back victories and he is coming off a decision victory in September at Bellator 161 against Djamil Chan. Campos will be looking for his seventh win in Bellator and two of his last three wins have come by knockout.
- Campos is tied with Awad for the second-fastest victory in Bellator lightweight division history with his :31 victory against Estevan Payan at Bellator 126.
- Won eight of his last eleven fights.
The current Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen fight card is below.
Main Card: (Spike – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Tito Ortiz (18-12-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (28-14-1)
Paul Daley (38-14-2) vs. Brennan Ward (14-4)
Ralek Gracie (3-0) vs. Hisaki Kato (7-2)
Georgi Karakhanyan (26-6-1) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (13-3)
Derek Anderson (14-2) vs. Derek Campos (17-6)
Preliminary Card: (Bellator.com – 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
Chinzo Machida (4-2) vs. Jamar Ocampo (2-0)
Jack May (8-3) vs. Dave Cryer (11-2)
Henry Corrales (12-3) vs. Cody Bollinger (19-6)
Kevin Casey (9-5-1, 2 NC) vs. Keith Berry (15-13)
Guilherme Vasconcelos (8-3) vs. John Mercurio (8-7)
Gabriel Green (3-0) vs. Jalin Turner (2-2)
Christian Gonzalez (2-0) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (2-0)
Jacob Rosales (4-2) vs. Ian Butler (3-2)
Johnny Cisneros (9-5) vs. Curtis Millender (9-3)
Mike Segura (4-4) vs. Tommy Aaron (2-1)
Rob Gooch (4-3) vs. James Barnes (6-2)
Demarcus Brown (4-2) vs. Alex Soto (7-3)
Colleen Schneider (10-7) vs. Chrissie Daniels (2-2)