Tito Ortiz to face Chael Sonnen on Jan. 21 at Bellator 170

In what has a chance to become the most-watched bout in Bellator history, Tito Ortiz will meet Chael Sonnen on Jan. 21 in the main event of Bellator 170 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Bellator president Scott Coker announced Tuesday on SportsCenter.

The battle between the former UFC stars will be contested at light heavyweight. It is one of those so-called “tentpole” fights that Coker uses to draw in casual fans. Ortiz is a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the biggest names in the history of the sport.

Sonnen was among the biggest draws in the UFC before he was suspended for two years by the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2014 after testing positive for a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs. He is also an MMA analyst on ESPN.

The Bellator record for most television viewers on Spike is 2.5 million for a bout between the late Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris. That card drew a Bellator record 1.96 million viewers for the entire show.

Ortiz, who is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, and Sonnen, whose bout at UFC 148 against then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva did nearly 1 million buys, are familiar names and experienced promoters who have already begun to trash talk each other.

Sonnen pulled a surprise when he signed with Bellator in September, not long after his suspension ended, and he began to talk up a bout with Ortiz. Ortiz took the bait and it seemed inevitable that they’d meet in Sonnen’s first Bellator bout.

Ortiz, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2012, hasn’t fought since he was submitted by Liam McGeary on Sept. 19, 2015, at Bellator 142 in a bout for the light heavyweight title. He is 2-1 in Bellator, with wins over Alexander Shlemenko and Stephan Bonnar, and is 18-12-1 in his MMA career.

It will be more than three years between fights for Sonnen. He was last in the cage when he was stopped in the first round by Rashad Evans at UFC 167 on Nov. 16, 2013, in Las Vegas.

They met once before, in a college wrestling match, and Sonnen pinned the 18-year-old Ortiz in about 30 seconds, Ortiz said, who told Yahoo Sports he’ll be out for revenge.

“I’ve got to watch his double leg, and defend the double leg, which I’ll be working on, but this isn’t a wrestling match,” Ortiz said. “I’m excited for this fight. This is going to be one for the fans. I have been looking for an opportunity at payback for a long time and when he signed with Bellator and called me out, I was like, ‘Wow, this is my dream and it’s coming true.’ To be honest with you, I want to go out there and be aggressive and push the pack and look to knock him out, or maybe choke him out or submit him.

“I’m not looking for a long, grueling wrestling match. His wrestling may be a little better than mine, but like I said, I’ll be working on that, but my hands are definitely better than his and my submissions for sure exceed his. I want to put on a show for the fans. Chael talks a good game, but he never backs it up.”

Ortiz said he recalled attending Lakers games and boxing matches at The Forum and marveled at the opportunity to fight in his hometown — he is from Huntington Beach, Calif. — in front of what should be a passionate crowd.

He said he is grateful to Coker for the opportunity. He said he’s “been treated incredibly well” since signing with Bellator and is in a perfect frame of mind to perform well. The year off, he said, has allowed his injuries to heal and he insists he’ll put on a show.

“Everything has been great since my first day with Bellator and they always treat me with class and give me respect,” Ortiz said. “I’m getting a huge payday on this. They pay me what I’m worth. I do all the things, the fan fests and the interviews and the personal appearances and I promote the fights, and they recognize what I do. And now, here’s Scott Coker making one of the fights I wanted most happen.

“It’s amazing and I can’t wait to show the fans and to put a beating on Chael Sonnen.”