5 reasons to watch Bellator 163, including a title fight and a few very different kinds of debuts

Things are about to get real busy in the MMA world. Between now and December 30, Bellator and the UFC, the two major players in the sport, will present 17 total fight cards. The first of those is Friday’s Bellator 163.

In the main event, Phil Davis looks to capture the one thing that has eluded him throughout his MMA career: a major title. He’ll have his work cut out for him in that pursuit as he takes on light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, who has gone the distance just once in his unbeaten 11 fight pro career.

In the co-main event, Brennan Ward and Saad Awad meet in a welterweight contest that, at least on paper, looks like it could be quite the crowd pleaser.

Also on the card, a quartet of Bellator debuts that fight fans won’t want to miss.

Bellator 163 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The prelims stream on MMAjunkie before things move to Spike for the main card. Here are five reasons to tune in.

1. Looking to be the first

Phil Davis

Davis joined Bellator just in time to compete in the promotion’s one-night light heavyweight tournament at Bellator 142. Davis put the division on notice that night, finishing both his fights via first-round stoppage. It was the first time Davis earned two consecutive stoppage victories since 2009. In his third fight with the promotion, Davis (16-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) took a unanimous decision over Muhammed Lawal, setting himself up for this shot at McGeary (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) and his title.

On paper, Davis, the No. 4 light heavyweight according to the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, has a significant advantage in the wrestling department, but No. 10-ranked McGeary has shown, on more than one occasion, that he doesn’t mind being on his back since he is more than capable with his submissions. With that in mind, it should be noted that Davis has zero submission losses.

A discussion of the ground game of these two may be moot, as McGeary recently said his plan is to earn a knockout win over Davis. If McGeary does stop Davis by strikes, he’ll accomplish something that no one – not even heavy-handed strikers like Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira – has done against Davis.

McGeary, who was MMAjunkie’s “Breakout Fighter of the Year” for 2015, has not fought since he submitted Tito Ortiz in September 2015 via inverted triangle choke.

2. Finishers looking to do just that

Brennan Ward

Ward had a good 2015, winning three fights via first-round stoppage and a fourth by way of second-round stoppage. Unfortunately, 2016 has not gone quite as well for him.

In his only fight this year, Ward fell to Evangelista Santos, tapping to a heel hook 30 seconds into Round 1.

Ward’s (13-4 MMA, 8-4 BMMA) opponent at Bellator 163, Awad (19-8 MMA, 7-5 BMMA), has alternated wins and losses over his last four fights, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Derek Anderson.

These two welterweights are finishers, and with both of them coming off losses, the expectation is that they’ll be even more focused on earning a stoppage victory.

3. Volume vs. power

Paul Daley

Paul Daley’s five-fight winning streak came to an end in July when he dropped a unanimous decision to former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima. Daley was dominated in that fight from start to finish. Expect that loss to be on the heavy-handed Daley’s (38-14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) mind when he faces Derek Anderson (14-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA).

This fight is Anderson’s first at welterweight, and even though he’s moving up from lightweight, where he was on a two-fight winning streak, he’ll have a height advantage over Daley.

This fight could come down to volume versus power. Anderson likes to use his length to fight from the outside, piling up strikes, while Daley prefers to wrap things up with one violent highlight-reel punch. If Daley is successful in getting his 29th career knockout in this contest, it’ll be the first time anyone has stopped Anderson via strikes.

4. A big man debuts

Sergei Kharitonov

Bellator’s heavyweight division has gotten a lot more crowded over the last little while and it adds another fighter to the mix at Bellator 163 when Sergei Kharitonov makes his Bellator debut.

Kharitonov made a name for himself in Pride, beating the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Pedro Rizzo, and Semmy Schilt before moving on to fight with Dream and later Strikeforce where he earned a knockout over Andrei Arlovski.

Since his Strikeforce run came to a close, and he was left out in the cold during the UFC/Strikeforce merger, Kharitonov has fought mostly in Russia for M-1, last competing in July 2015.

Kharitonov (23-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) enters his fight against Javy Ayala 9-5 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) on a five-fight winning streak, ending each of those fights via knockout. If Kharitonov can make it six straight wins, expect him to get some consideration for a shot at the vacant Bellator heavyweight strap.

Ayala, a six-fight Bellator veteran, enters this contest coming off a June TKO win.

5. The prospects

Ed Ruth

Bellator President Scott Coker does not shy away from signing high-level wrestlers and allowing them to grow and develop under his watch. The most famous example of this is Daniel Cormier, who Coker signed when he was in charge of Strikeforce. Now 19 fights into his MMA career, Cormier is the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.

Recent Bellator signees Ed Ruth and Tyrell Fortune make their MMA debuts on the preliminary card of Bellator 163. Ruth was a three-time national champion wrestling for Penn State, while Fortune was a national champion at Grand Canyon University. Both fighters fell short in their efforts to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

Ruth (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) faces Mark Mangiardi (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a middleweight bout, while Fortune (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) meets Cody Miskell (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a heavyweight contest.

Also, women’s featherweight Talita Nogueira makes her Bellator debut on this card. Nogueira, a world champion in jiu-jitsu has fought six times as a pro, winning each of those contests by stoppage. Nogueira (6-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) gets a very tough test in her first Bellator fight, meeting Marloes Coenen (23-7 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), who looks to redeem herself following a surprising submission loss to Alexis Dufresne in May.

For more on Bellator 163, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.