MMA community reacts to Tito Ortiz’s defeat of Chael Sonnen, retirement from MMA

By Tom Taylor - January 22, 2017

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 170. Featuring some of the organization’s biggest names, this action-packed card was topped by a light heavyweight showdown between UFC Hall-of-Famer and veritable MMA legend Tito Ortiz, and returning cult hero Chael Sonnen.

Tito Ortiz

In the buildup to this fight, we learned that Tito Ortiz would be retiring afterwards, no matter what happened in the cage. In the end, he was able to earn himself a win, and the perfect way to ride off into the MMA sunset.

Ortiz earned his win with a first-round, neck-crank / rear-naked choke hybrid. This win came after Ortiz took Sonnen down early, snuck his way out of a guillotine attempt, secured full mount, and ultimately, took the back.

In the wake of Ortiz’s dominant submission defeat of Chael Sonnen, many notable members of the MMA community took to Twitter to congratulate him on his win and wish him well as he embarks on his well-deserved retirement. A handful of fighters also suggested that his defeat of Sonnen may have been a fix – thought this certainly seems unlikely.

See the best reactions to Ortiz’s defeat of Sonnen and and subsequent retirement below.

https://twitter.com/LDV_TheSwarm/status/823035065819074561

https://twitter.com/TeamRocBiggie/status/823032606044409856

Having bested Sonnen, Ortiz rebounds from a recent loss to former Bellator light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary, which saw him blow an early lead and fail to claim the title. The UFC Hall-of-Famer, who made his pro debut almost two decades ago in May of 1997, will retire with a 19-12-1 overall record.

Sonnen, meanwhile, now finds himself on a two-fight losing streak, having also lost his second most recent bout, succumbing to Rashad Evans punches back in 2013. He’s now 28-15-1 overall.

What do you think of Tito Ortiz’s legendary career? Sound off in the comments section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/22/2017.


This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Tito Ortiz