Chael Sonnen And Tito Ortiz Look To End Their 20 Year Rivalry Tonight

On January 23rd, 1998, a kid from the University of Oregon pinned UFC sensation Tito Ortiz in just forty-four seconds. That kid was Chael Sonnen.

Here we are, nearing twenty years later, and the two will meet one more time, face to face, at Bellator 170. For Chael, Tito Ortiz is the first name to check off on his “Legends Ass Kicking Tour”, and this fight is about keeping a promise he made to his dad. Chael claims the last thing he ever told his father while he was on his death bed was that he would beat Tito Ortiz and become the UFC World Champion. According to him, it’s the only promise in life he’s never kept.

For Tito, this fight is about riding off into the sunset with one more W on his record. He’s had a long and storied career at 18-12 professionally, and plans on retiring tonight after putting Sonnen to sleep. He’s made it clear he has no intentions of submitting Chael, and wants to finish him with strikes instead, to punish him for everything he’s said in the lead-up to tonight.

This fight really shouldn’t feel as important as it does, especially in 2017, but Chael Sonnen is just the master of hype. Sonnen was the original Conor McGregor in terms of selling fights with his mouth, and he hasn’t lost a step. I’d put Chael’s build to this fight up against any one man build in history…and by “one man build” I mean he’s the only reason anyone is tuning in. When a pro wrestler is really good, people will throw around the phrase, “He’s so good he could wrestle a broom!”

There were moments in press conferences and interviews where I could not confirm whether or not Tito was literally a broom.

Here’s some clips to hype you up for tonight. War Sonnen.

Chael Sonnen makes ‘nasty’ slam of Tito Ortiz’s ex at the #bellator170 press conference. pic.twitter.com/xGAdBW7UEV

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 19, 2017