Liam McGeary: Uneasy Lies the Head

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Tito Ortiz may be 40 years old and years removed from the prime of his mixed martial arts career, but Bellator MMA light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary knows he cannot afford to overlook “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”

“I’d be stupid if didn’t see him as dangerous,” McGeary told Sherdog.com. “I’m not going to take it any easier on him or take him lightly because he’s 40 years old. He still poses some danger, but I feel like I’m more than capable of handling that threat. I’m going to go out and show everyone.”

McGeary will defend his 205-pound title against Ortiz in the Bellator 142 main event on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The Englishman is unbeaten through 10 professional bouts, with nine finishes to his credit. In fact, the only time McGeary has gone the distance was in his most recent bout, where he claimed the Bellator light heavyweight championship in a five-round unanimous decision over Emanuel Newton at Bellator 134 on Feb. 27. In that fight, McGeary used an active ground game to threaten with submissions from the bottom. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt attempted triangle chokes, armbars, triangle armbars and keylocks, and while he was not able to tap the crafty Newton, he did more than enough to earn the decision and improve his Bellator record to 7-0.

The 6-foot-6 McGeary expected Newton to present a difficult challenge and admits he was happy to emerge victorious, even if he had to go all five rounds to do it. Newton entered the cage on a seven-fight winning streak that stretched back more than two years.

“I was going for a belt, so I knew it was gonna be no walk in the park; and it wasn’t,” said McGeary, who operates out of the Team Renzo Gracie camp in New Jersey. “It was a great fight, I prepared for it and I’m happy with the result.”

Ortiz was just 1-7-1 inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship from December 2006 to July 2012, but he will ride into his matchup against McGeary on the strength of back-to-back victories. He made his organization debut against former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 120 in May 2014, choking him unconscious with a first-round arm-triangle. Ortiz followed with a split decision over fellow UFC hall of famer Stephan Bonnar in the Bellator 131 headliner six months later. It marked the first time he had recorded consecutive wins since he rattled off five straight between Oct. 22, 2004 and Oct. 10, 2006.

McGeary admits he looks forward to the opportunity to fight with a high-profile opponent like Ortiz, a man who owns victories over Ken Shamrock, Forrest Griffin, Ryan Bader, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, among others.

“Camp’s been awesome,” he said. “Things have been brilliant. I’ve been working hard and pushing through my paces. I’m excited about this fight. His name holds a lot of value. I’m looking forward to punching him in the face. I’m honored to be in the main event of this card. It’s a great card to be a part of, and to be in the headlining fight makes me very happy.”

Aside from his venomous submission game, McGeary believes his youth puts him at a significant advantage against Ortiz, who has been fighting competitively for 18 years.

“I’m a lot younger than him, and that’s exactly what I’m going to take advantage of and win this fight,” McGeary said. “My conditioning is good, my striking is good and my wrestling is good. I’m ready for this fight.”

Along with the title fight pitting McGeary against Ortiz, there will also be a four-man, one-night tournament that features Newton, Phil Davis, Muhammed Lawal and Linton Vassell. The winner of that draw is expected to become the No. 1 contender for Bellator’s 205-pound crown. McGeary will have a vested interest in the result.

“I know a couple of the guys in the tournament,” he said. “I know ‘King Mo,’ and [Newton] beat him. I’m definitely going to be watching. I’ll be getting ready for my fight, but I don’t want to miss it. I’ll have the DVR going at home and make sure to watch it all when I get home.”

McGeary feels the tournament, along with the combined co-promotion with Glory kickboxing, represents another sign that Bellator is going in the right direction as 2015 starts to wind down.

“I really like the tournament,” said McGeary, who signed a multi-fight, multi-year contract with Bellator in March. “The tournament is massive, and it says that Bellator has faith in the 205-pound division. [Bellator President Scott Coker] got a lot of the best at heavyweight when he was in Strikeforce. He’s doing that here with the light heavyweight division, and I’m more than happy to go along with those plans.”