Ortiz vs. Bonnar: Complete Guide to Bellator 131 Main Card

Bellator is set to close its 11th season with a bang with Bellator 131. Set to go head-to-head with UFC 180, the California-based promotion is looking to one-up the UFC by showcasing several of its top names, including Michael Chandler, Will Brooks, Mo Lawal, Tito Ortiz and Melvin Manhoef.

At the top of the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is set to face The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 alum Stephan Bonnar in one of the year's quirkiest grudge matches.

If that is not your cup of tea, however, don't fret! A sure-to-be-exciting lightweight five-round title rematch between Will Brooks and Michael Chandler sits in the co-main event spot. Not only that, but the card features highly anticipated fights between veteran kickboxer Joe Schilling and hyper-violent journeyman Melvin Manhoef and TUF 12 veterans Mike Richman and Nam Phan.

The main card is set to kick off at 9 p.m. EST on Spike TV and will be competing directly with the UFC for your eyeballs. Want to learn more about this card before inviting friends over on November 15? Then read on!

Preliminary Card

Bellator 131 Preliminary Card

• Kyle Bolt vs. A.J. Matthews 
• Ron Henderson vs. Jonathan Santa Maria 
• Jordan Bailey vs. Alex Higley 
• Nick Garcia vs. Matthew Ramirez 
• Andy Murad vs. Bubba Pugh 
• Rolando Perez vs. Mark Vorgeas 
• Ian Butler vs. Joao Faria

While Bellator has pruned its roster down with a slew of notable releases, the Bellator 131 preliminary card is chock-full of bottom-level talent. Numerous fighters have under five pro fights to their name.

As a random note, the preliminary card features two flyweight fights, something of an oddity for Bellator. This may be a hint that the promotion is considering expanding its roster to include 125-pound fighters.

The preliminary card can be found on Bellator.com.

Mike Richman vs. Nam Phan

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Division: Bantamweight
Records: Nam Phan (20-13), Mike Richman (17-5)

Kicking off the Bellator 131 main card is a battle between The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 also-rans Nam Phan and Mike Richman.

Phan is a deceptively well-seasoned veteran who fought in the early days of both the WEC and Strikeforce and also participated in the UFC's first featherweight bout. However, Phan was nothing if not overmatched during his entire UFC career, facing the likes of Mike Brown, Dennis Siver and Takeya Mizugaki. He was handed his pink slip earlier this year but bounced back with back-to-back wins in Japan.

Richman, meanwhile, has been one of Bellator's workhorses over the last two years, participating in three featherweight tournaments and taking on 10 fights over the last two-and-a-half years. While he has come up short against most of Bellator's hotter names, Richman has amassed a serviceable 6-4 record, having fought many of the promotion's best 145-pounders.

As with Bellator 120 and Bellator 106, this curtain-jerker was specifically designed to be fun. Richman is a particularly strong finisher, and Phan is at his best when he can tap into his solid boxing skills. This fight will be Richman's bantamweight debut, and if the weight cut proves to be manageable, watch for him to use his well-rounded game to wear on Phan and take the fight.

Prediction: Mike Richman def. Nam Phan via unanimous decision

Joe Schilling vs. Melvin Manhoef

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Division: Middleweight
Record: Melvin Manhoef (29-11-1, 1 NC), Joe Schilling (1-3)

MMA fans are already more than familiar with Melvin Manhoef, the Dutchman who became infamous for his vicious brand of striking. Kickboxing fans, however, are familiar with Joe Schilling, the Glory and Lion Fight veteran who ranks among America's most accomplished kickboxers.

Well guess what, guys? They are going to throw down!

As far as "just bleed" affairs go, this should be a particularly good one. Manhoef's MMA reputation is well-established. While Schilling has a humble 1-3 MMA record, don't get too bearish on his skills; all his fights were in 2008 against relatively stiff competition. You can get a good feel for his stopping power from any given fan-made YouTube highlight video. 

This should be an electrifying, fun fight. While both men are certainly capable of blasting the other's face off, Schilling's high-level kickboxing should be able to carry him over Manhoef in an all-striking affair.

Prediction: Joe Schilling def. Melvin Manhoef by TKO in Round 2

Mo Lawal vs. Joe Vedepo

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Division: Light Heavyweight
Records: Mo Lawal (13-4, 1 NC), Joe Vedepo (17-8)

With the withdrawal of Tom DeBlass, "King" Mo Lawal finds himself with a substantially easier opponent in Joe Vedepo.

If Vedepo's name doesn't ring a bell, don't fret. The 31-year-old has amassed a decent 4-2 promotional record fighting largely on Bellator preliminary cards...as a middleweight. His most notable fight in Bellator came last year at Bellator 104, where he lost to The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove. He also quietly washed out of the UFC in 2009 after suffering back-to-back losses to Alessio Sakara and Rob Kimmons.

While Vedepo has enough skill that he cannot be accurately called a "tomato can," he will almost certainly be easy pickings for the former Strikeforce champ. Lawal remains a formidable wrestler and owns a clear size advantage over Vedepo.

Look for Lawal to keep Vedepo on his back for much of the fight and likely finish him along the way.

Prediction: Mo Lawal def. Joe Vedepo by TKO in Round 3

Will Brooks vs. Michael Chandler

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Division: Lightweight
Records: Will Brooks (14-1), Michael Chandler (12-2)

In what is easily the pound-for-pound best fight of the night, Will Brooks looks to become the undisputed Bellator lightweight champion at the expense of Michael Chandler.

The two lightweights faced off earlier this year in a hastily thrown-together interim lightweight title fight at Bellator 120. After a hard-fought match, Brooks got an iffy split-decision victory, much to the chagrin of both the deeply invested Bellator and Chandler himself, who was coming off another questionable loss to Eddie Alvarez.

Bellator seems keen on pretending that fight never happened, however, going so far as to bill Chandler ahead of Brooks on the official card. Regardless, it's impossible to complain about a matchup between two legitimate talents.

Prediction-wise, this is a total toss-up. Chandler has more punching power and a strong wrestling game, but Brooks has the edge in grappling and cardio. The fight can go in either direction, but the most likely outcome is Chandler using his takedowns and clinch work to eat up time and score points with the judges en route to reclaiming Bellator gold.

Prediction: Michael Chandler def. Will Brooks by unanimous decision

Tito Ortiz vs. Stephan Bonnar

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Division: Light Heavyweight
Records: Tito Ortiz (17-11), Stephan Bonnar (15-8)

Bellator 131's main event happens to be a battle between light heavyweight dinosaurs Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar. While the unlikely grudge match started off with some of the campiest pro wrestling theatrics imaginable, it is set to end in a good ol'-fashioned shoot.

Fans already know Bonnar and Ortiz in and out from their more than 40 combined UFC fights. What nobody knows, however, is how much either man has left in the tank. 

Ortiz retired in 2012 following a truly ugly 1-7-1 skid but bounced back with a win over then-Bellator middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko.

Bonnar, on the other hand, retired around the same time on something of a career upswing. While fans' lasting memory of The American Psycho to this point has been a crushing loss to Anderson Silva and the subsequent drug test failure (it was Bonnar's second time being popped for steroids), he was actually riding a three-fight winning streak before that.

It's easy to see this fight going in any particular direction. A quick knockout, one or both fighters gassing, a technical ground affair or a tough-to-watch clinch-fest are all distinct possibilities.

Prediction: Tito Ortiz def. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision