Tito Ortiz submits Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170, but was it a work?
Tito Ortiz submits Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170, but was it a work?
Going into the main event of Bellator 170 there seemed to be a bit of professional wrestling tied into the fight between Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz, but would the theatrics actually pan out inside the cage as well?
You can watch the tape over and over to decide for yourself whether the rear-naked choke submission win was a work or not, but the question therein lies, is this the norm now for Bellator?
https://twitter.com/danhardymma/status/823137974326099968
Over the past few years we have seen main events built up with hype only to later question the fight’s legitimacy.
Tito Ortiz vs. Stephan Bonnar, Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock, and Dhafir Harris vs. Kimbo Slice, are just a few that come to mind.
The light heavyweight bout was the main event of Bellator 170 from The Forum in Inglewood, California. It aired on Spike TV.
The rivals met 19 years after encountering each other on the wrestling mats, where Sonnen quickly pinned Ortiz. There was a lot of trash talk back and forth leading up to the fight and once Ortiz sunk the choke in on Sonnen and the tap was rendered, Ortiz continued to hold the choke, and referee Big John McCarthy was forced to step in.
https://twitter.com/FancyCombat/status/823033157222105088
Sonnen got to Ortiz first, and attempted a guillotine variation. Ortiz escaped and ended in top mount. Sonnen tried to roll free, but Ortiz partially applied a rear naked choke and squeezed. Sonnen turned purple, and tapped.
Ortiz said this will be his final mixed martial arts fight. The former UFC light heavyweight champion retires with a record of 19-12-1.
.@titoortiz thanks the fans who've supported through his 20 year career. #Bellator170 pic.twitter.com/XqOqRWWZND
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) January 22, 2017
Complete Bellator 170 results:
Tito Ortiz defeated Chael Sonnen via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:03
Paul Daley defeated Brennan Ward via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 2:27
Hisaki Kato defeated Ralek Gracie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Emmanuel Sanchez defeated Georgi Karakhanyan via majority decision (28-28, 28-27, 28-27)
Derek Campos defeated Derek Anderson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Henry Corrales defeated Cody Bollinger via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 4:28
Guilherme Vasconcelos defeated John Mercurio via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:41
Keith Berry vs. Kevin Casey declared majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Alex Soto defeated Demarcus Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Chinzo Machida defeated Jamar Ocampo via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 3:48
Jalin Turner defeated Gabriel Green via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:36
Jack May defeated Dave Cryer via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:41
Daniel Rodriguez defeated Christian Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:55
Colleen Schneider defeated Chrissie Daniels by submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 1:30
Curtis Millender defeated Johnny Cisneros by TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:48
James Barnes defeated Rob Gooch by submission (inverted triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:36
Mike Segura defeated Tommy Aaron by knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:02
Jacob Rosales defeated Ian Butler by TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:45
