UFC Hall of Famers Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar is the star for the Bellator 131 event. He and Ortiz were in the cage at Bellator 123 to announce the fight. Bonnar then went off on Ortiz, exchanging several reproachful remarks in the former UFC light heavyweight champion's direction.

Ortiz said it was according to his plans. He said "Well, it really came down to a plan, an idea that I thought would work, worked perfectly. When I first signed with Bellator, I guess Dana (White) and Bonnar kind of had an idea that if they called me out, I would come back to the UFC and fight. And this was a year ago that this happened. And I wasn't going to let that happen."

He adds "I wanted to fight in Bellator, so I signed with Bellator and I thought in my mind, 'How can I get Bonnar to Bellator to finally shut him up and smash him after the things he said?'"

He continued "And sneakily on my side, I got (fighter manager) Dave Thomas to sign him. Dave Thomas signed him and we had to think of something to make him believe that Dave Thomas doesn't like me, that Paul Herrera didn't like me. Paul Herrera was going to coach him. And Stephan Bonnar bit the line, hook and sinker. He thought in his own mind that all of his guys were against me and I fooled him."

Ortiz and Herrera has known each other for the longest time. Herrera was Ortiz's high school wrestling coach, and he's trained with Herrera off and on for years.

He said 'And now it's a week out from the fight. I know how his training camp went. I know the ins and outs. So he just got baited. That's how bad I want to cave his face in. I'm the king of trash talk, but at the end of the day, the person who laughs last, laughs loudest and hardest. And that's me."

When Randy Harris asked Ortiz if this was all his planning and not the oterh way around, he answered "Come on, how long have I been in this business? Can't mess with me! This guy, when he talked trash, with him and Dana talking trash, I was like, 'How do I get in the cage and fight him and not in the UFC?' And I just sat back and let the strings be pulled."

Adding "I know everything from the wrestling side of it. I know what he can and can't do through Paul Herrera, who his training partner is. I know how much he's been working on his takedown defense, what type of striking he's been doing."