On September 15, 2016 (after over two years out via suspension from the Nevada State Atletic Commission), Chael Sonnen announced he had signed with Bellator MMA on a six-fight contract.
The former UFC Lightweight and Middleweight contender said it was his mission to teach those in the Sport a lesson that didn't put in the work that they claim to do and that it was going to start with Tito Ortiz.
Meanwhile, Ortiz is set to retire following his Light Heavyweight fight with Sonnen on January 21st at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has fought three previous times in Bellator, winning two and losing his last fight against then Light Heavyweight champ Liam McGeary, but will look to shut up Sonnen, who he recently called a punk at the Bellator 170 pre-fight press conference, before hanging up his gloves.
Sonnen: We’re gonna be on Spike TV half naked fighting for a drunken audience. We don’t need any more motivation.— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 19, 2017
You see, these two have a history that is partly down to Sonnen's obsession with Ortiz and the fact that Ortiz doesn't respect the 'American Gangster' for his skills inside the cage.
It all dates back to a when Sonnen beat Ortiz in a college wrestling match back on January 23rd 1997. Ortiz then dropped the whole college wrestling thing like it was a scolding potato and went to compete in the UFC. As Sonnen himself said "Six months later he drops out of college and wins the UFC Championship."
You might think that this fight wouldn't really mean much other than a paycheck to Sonnen but this fight means a heck of a lot to him, as revealed on Bellator's In Focus were it was shown that Sonnen and his father were huge Ortiz fans and would often debate his tactics in the Octagon.
That feeling of what could have been has eaten away at Sonnen and he promised his father that he would ethier win the World Championship and beat Tito Ortiz.
Sonnen may have failed to win a World Championship in the UFC, being defeated by then Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at UFC 148 and by then Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones at UFC 159, but he has the chance to cap off his first Bellator appearance by keeping his promise to his father and beating Tito Ortiz.
PREDICTION: The obvious difference between these two is that the fact that in the time that Sonnen has been out of action, 38 months, Ortiz has fought three times.
With this in mind, it's difficult to know exactly what Sonnen will bring to the cage on Saturday due to the sheer amount of time he's had off.
Although I think Sonnen is a great asset for Bellator, I think Ortiz will go in with a plan to deconstruct Sonnen's striking and give the 'Bad Guy' no time what so ever to get back into the swing of things.
Therefore, I think Ortiz will win via third-round technical knockout. capping off his 20 year career in style.
Oritz and Sonnen having a staredown after the Bellator 170 pre-fight press conference.
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