Paul Daley vs. Brennan Ward set for Bellator 170

A battle between two heavy-handed welterweights is on tap for the main card of Bellator 170. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported on Tuesday that Paul “Semtex” Daley will face “Irish” Brennan Ward at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Bellator officials later produced a formal press release on Wednesday.

Daley (38-14-2) hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision loss to Douglas Lima in the main event of Bellator 158 in London. That setback halted a five-fight winning streak. He was scheduled to face Derek Anderson at Bellator 163, but after making weight the day before the event, he was pulled on fight day as “a precautionary measure” following a tough weight cut.

Ward (14-4) is coming off a quick KO of Saad Awad at Bellator 163, which was an emphatic bounceback performance after his surprising heel-hook loss to Cyborg Santos in April. The 28-year-old is otherwise 4-1 overall since dropping down to 170, with none of his fights even seeing the 2nd round.

Bellator 170 is headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen. The card will happen on Saturday, January 21st and air live on Spike TV, but will have competition that night, as UFC 208 will be taking place at the same time inside the Honda Center in Anaheim.