Chael Sonnen changes tune on Tito Ortiz, accuses retired ‘Bad Boy’ of verbally tapping

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who finished his career under the Bellator MMA banner on Spike TV, retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) after submitting fellow UFC import Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170.

Watch his retirement speech here.

That said, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has not ruled out a return to the cage, if he is able to finagle a (cough) “super fight” against aging heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Which would violate the bro-code instituted by Sonnen last month in Los Angeles, Calif., where Ortiz verbally tapped to the “American Gangster” — unbeknownst to the referee — before turning the tables later in the round.

From the “You’re Welcome” podcast (via MMA Fighting):

“Look, Tito tapped in that fight. I knew Tito tapped when he tapped. I heard Tito verbally tap and I’ve never said a word about it, privately to Tito at the press conference or to you guys. I never said anything and the reason is, first off, when you lose, you just take your loss. It’s not a tap if the referee doesn’t call it a tap so therefore, Tito didn’t tap. I thought he tapped, and I let a move go. He verbally tapped, and I never said anything about it and the reason was, he quit the sport five seconds later. He quit the sport five seconds after I tapped and he quit the sport a minute and five seconds after he tapped. There was no rematch. There was nothing to build and no reason to tell the real story.

“And yeah, we are one apiece. I never got going. That guy is easy work for me. I would put that guy away in less than two minutes. It would be a completely different fight. It bothers me. It bothers me to come out here and say that I’d clean a guy up in two minutes that just tapped me out. I realize how insane that sounds but the guy was gone.”

“I would’ve taken it to my grave. It was between Tito and I. He gave me a look after the fight. Tito, we’re good man. I tapped fair and square. The ref called my tap, he didn’t call your tap, we’re good. You think I’ve never ran a tap back before? Sure I have. You’re in there, you do anything you can. I had absolutely no problem with it.”

Alistair Overeem concurs.

Ortiz responded on Twitter (which I can’t link because I’m blocked) by calling Sonnen a “bitch.” The chances of Fedor Emelianenko fighting “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” are currently idling on the corner of Slim & None, as the “Last Emperor” has some unfinished business with Matt Mitrione.

For much more on that recent fiasco click here.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who finished his career under the Bellator MMA banner on Spike TV, retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) after submitting fellow UFC import Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170.

Watch his retirement speech here.

That said, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has not ruled out a return to the cage, if he is able to finagle a (cough) “super fight” against aging heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Which would violate the bro-code instituted by Sonnen last month in Los Angeles, Calif., where Ortiz verbally tapped to the “American Gangster” — unbeknownst to the referee — before turning the tables later in the round.

From the “You’re Welcome” podcast (via MMA Fighting):

“Look, Tito tapped in that fight. I knew Tito tapped when he tapped. I heard Tito verbally tap and I’ve never said a word about it, privately to Tito at the press conference or to you guys. I never said anything and the reason is, first off, when you lose, you just take your loss. It’s not a tap if the referee doesn’t call it a tap so therefore, Tito didn’t tap. I thought he tapped, and I let a move go. He verbally tapped, and I never said anything about it and the reason was, he quit the sport five seconds later. He quit the sport five seconds after I tapped and he quit the sport a minute and five seconds after he tapped. There was no rematch. There was nothing to build and no reason to tell the real story.

“And yeah, we are one apiece. I never got going. That guy is easy work for me. I would put that guy away in less than two minutes. It would be a completely different fight. It bothers me. It bothers me to come out here and say that I’d clean a guy up in two minutes that just tapped me out. I realize how insane that sounds but the guy was gone.”

“I would’ve taken it to my grave. It was between Tito and I. He gave me a look after the fight. Tito, we’re good man. I tapped fair and square. The ref called my tap, he didn’t call your tap, we’re good. You think I’ve never ran a tap back before? Sure I have. You’re in there, you do anything you can. I had absolutely no problem with it.”

Alistair Overeem concurs.

Ortiz responded on Twitter (which I can’t link because I’m blocked) by calling Sonnen a “bitch.” The chances of Fedor Emelianenko fighting “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” are currently idling on the corner of Slim & None, as the “Last Emperor” has some unfinished business with Matt Mitrione.

For much more on that recent fiasco click here.