Chael Sonnen to debut against Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170

Chael Sonnen has an opponent for his Bellator debut.

It was announced on Tuesday night’s edition of SportsCenter that Sonnen would make his debut for the company against Tito Ortiz in the main event of Bellator 170 on January 21st at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.

After completing a two-year suspension for failing multiple drug tests, Sonnen announced last month that he was returning to mixed martial arts and had signed with Bellator. Sonnen had mentioned Ortiz as a possible opponent for his debut fight, framing it as “The Bad Guy vs. The Bad Boy.”

Sonnen’s last fight was in November 2013 at UFC 167, where he concluded his UFC career in a loss to Rashad Evans.

Ortiz, formerly a longtime mainstay in the UFC, has had three fights since signing with Bellator in 2013. He began his career in the promotion with wins against Alexander Shlemenko and Stephan Bonnar before losing his latest fight against Liam McGeary over a year ago.