‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ Tito Ortiz may be facing the bad boy Chael Sonnen in a rematch for his final MMA fight. Ortiz made these claims while speaking on The Adam Carolla Show. He said:
“I’ll be competing one last time in the beginning of February. Tito Ortiz vs Chael Sonnen number two will be happening for Freedom Fight Night. I’m excited. It’ll be in mixed martial arts, not boxing, and at 205lbs.” [Transcript credit: Heavy]
This announcement seems to have emerged out of nowhere. Chael Sonnen is officially retired which adds even more questions to Ortiz’s claim. The former UFC champion had previously called out Sonnen in 2022 on Twitter but got no response from the US-born athlete.
In August of this year, Ortiz attempted to bait Sonnen, saying:
“@ChaelSonnen don’t be scared homie. Now you have a chance to keep the promise to your dad. #Ortizvscheal2.”
Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen had previously fought in early 2017 under the Bellator MMA banner with Ortiz earning a first-round submission. Since then, the former UFC titleholder has earned wins against Chuck Liddell and Alberto Del Rio, before suffering a knockout loss in boxing to Anderson Silva.
Chael Sonnen claimed victories over ‘Rampage’ Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, before losing twice in a row to Fedor Emelianenko and Lyoto Machida, and then calling it a career. He has not actively competed in MMA since 2019.
Chael Sonnen vs. Tito Ortiz II?
Combined Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz are 92 years old. Since 2020, the two men have a combined combat sports record of 0-1. Neither has been particularly active over the past few years. Fans are in wide agreement that they are both well out of their prime fighting years. While Ortiz is interested in one last match, the audience may be less than interested in this one.
Tito Ortiz has been keeping busy as the Mayor pro tempore of Huntington Beach, California. Due to controversies, he stepped down after just six months in the position.
Chael Sonnen was the founder of Submission Underground (SUG) which is a submission grappling organization. Earlier this year, Sonnen was arrested in Las Vegas. Sports Illustrated writes, “In the complaint, Sonnen is described to have hurt five different men in variations of punching, kneeing, striking and kicking.”