- Tito Ortiz said he will fight Chael Sonnen in MMA next year
- “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” said it will be his retirement fight
For the last time in his legendary MMA career, Tito Ortiz will be making his way inside the cage. The former UFC light heavyweight champion has confirmed that he will be taking on his fellow MMA legend Chael Sonnen in an epic rematch. Ortiz previously said he will have his retirement fight before 2022 ends but he now declared it will be in February next year.
What a way to say goodbye
In a recent interview, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” announced that a rematch with Sonnen is happening and the bout will be hosted by Freedom Fight Night, a foundation Ortiz is affiliated with. Ortiz added that the fight will be in MMA and at 205 pounds.
“I’ll be competing my one last time in the beginning of February, Tito Ortiz versus Chael Sonnen No. 2 will be happening for Freedom Fight Night,” Ortiz told The Adam Carolla Show. “I’m excited, I’m really excited. In MMA, not boxing, at 205 [pounds].”
A late yet epic rivalry
Ortiz and Sonnen are considered as two of the greatest UFC fighters of all time. However, the pair never fought each other during their prime years in the promotion. Instead, they crossed paths at Bellator and at the time, they were both ageing veterans in the sport.
Nevertheless, Ortiz and Sonnen did not fail to deliver. In their first meeting at Bellator 170 in 2017, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” spoiled Sonnen’s debut in the promotion and submitted “The Bad Guy” via rear-naked choke in the first round.
Since then, Ortiz went on and won two more fights in MMA. He KO’d Chuck Liddell in 2018 in their thrilling trilogy bout, and he followed it up by a submission victory over Alberto Rodriguez in 2019. However, Tito suffered a first-round KO loss to Anderson Silva in their boxing match last year.
On the other hand, Sonnen went 2-2 at Bellator after losing to Ortiz. He beat fellow UFC legends Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson but was TKO’d by Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 208. Sonnen’s last bout was against another former UFC champion Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222 where he also suffered a TKO loss.
Sonnen is expected to comment on Ortiz’s big announcement sooner rather than later. So, Let’s wait and see what happens next.
