Tito Ortiz had his final fight at Bellator 170, and he went out on top. Check out BloodyElbow.com’s recap of his fight with Chael Sonnen.
Tito Ortiz stepped away from mixed martial arts competition in fashion.
In the main event of Bellator 170 and his retirement fight, the former UFC light heavyweight champion defeated the returning Chael Sonnen by submission in the first round.
Bellator 170 took place live from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 21.
Ortiz landed a takedown early into the scheduled three-round bout, but “The American Gangster” set up a series of choke attempts off his back. He wasn’t able to finish any of them, however, and Ortiz eventually escaped, returned to a dominant position, and took Sonnen’s back. He started to sink in a rear-naked choke, and although he didn’t have his arm completely under the chin of Sonnen, the pressure from the neck crack forced the former UFC title challenger to tap.
What was the highlight of the fight?
Ortiz vs. Sonnen didn’t last too long, so there’s only one option for its highlight: the finish. Ortiz’s rear-naked choke over Sonnen wasn’t necessarily the most technical submission we’ve seen, but it was incredible that Ortiz’s sheer power and strength got the job done.
Where do these two go from here?
Ortiz is retired. Unless he returns to action a few years down the road like a lot of fighters that step away, we won’t be seeing “The People’s Champ” fight inside a mixed martial arts cage ever again.
Right from when he came out of retirement, Sonnen planned on fighting more than once; he signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA. It’s tough to say where he goes from here. If I had to wager on Sonnen’s next move, I’d say we will see him back in the cage in another big fight in the foreseeable future. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if he heads back into retirement and focuses on Submission Underground and his other ventures.
Watch now, later or never?
After months of talking, Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen finally threw down. And we saw an upset. You should check it out immediately if you haven’t already.
Tito Ortiz def Chael Sonnen via RNC #Bellator170 pic.twitter.com/eo96s90MnK
— Fancy Combat (@FancyCombat) January 22, 2017