Fans Yell Fix As Chael Sonnen Unexpectedly Taps Out Of Bellator 170 – Tito Ortiz Wins Retirement Match
Tito Ortiz proves that he is still "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" as he applied a rear-naked choke on Chael Sonnen making him tap in just the first round of Bellator 170. Ortiz is set to retire after the win but fans are shouting otherwise. Social media is flooded with comments that the two actually rigged the fight and that Ortiz's RNC seems unlikely to inflict such pressure enough for Sonnen to tap out.
MMA Junkie was one of the first MMA sites to respond to fans shouting fix. Retired WEC and UFC fighter Danny Downes and columnist Ben Fowlkes shed light into the matter and said that Bellator 170, just like other Bellator fights, was thought as rigged by fans.
Fowlkes said that he understood why fans thought that it was fixed upon analyzing how Ortiz performed the rear-naked choke which was rather unusual. But he said that upon looking at how Sonnen's face changed color made him think otherwise. "Clearly, that choke was doing something," he said. He also analyzed what will Sonnen gain after rigging the fight.
Chael Sonnen has just come back from a three-year hiatus and losing this fight won't get him anywhere. He has been known to cash in on fights before but this time what could be his angle, Fowlkes said.
Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen were present during the post-fight conference. The later acknowledged his loss and said that he gave up to a submission hold after missing an attempt on Ortiz. "The choke I was caught in? Yeah, that was tight," says the 31- year old fighter. He thought that he had his opponent but had his legs on the wrong part of his body, he added.
Sonnen actually took Ortiz a little bit early, said CBS Sports. He was looking for a submission and was able to get hold of the fighter's neck to deliver a guillotine position but Ortiz was able to escape. Ortiz proceeded on a top mount and succeeded and delivered the choke. He never let go.
Ortiz's win at Bellator 170 signals his retirement. Aside from Ortiz, winners of the event held in The Forum in Inglewood, California were Paul Daley over Brennan Ward in a first round KO, Hisako Kato won over Ralek Gracie via unanimous decision and Emmanuel Sanchez over Georgi Karakhanyan via majority decision.
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