Tito ortiz vs chael sonnen 3

Bellator 170 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Sonnen vs. Ortiz Card

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Tito Ortiz.Associated Press

Was this the biggest card in Bellator history? If it wasn't, it was pretty close.

In the main event, you had two very famous fighters in former UFC contender Chael Sonnen, who came out of retirement for this fight, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who went into retirement after this fight. On a Saturday night that didn't have any UFC event—or much of any sports, for that matter—this was a prime opportunity for Bellator to shine.

Who cares that the combined age in the main event was 81 years? Never mind that! Let's just try to have fun for once, OK? That should actually be Bellator's slogan.

There was plenty more action outside the main event. In the co-main event, you had a cracker of a slugfest between honey badger welterweights Paul Daley and Brennan Ward. Then, jiu-jitsu palace court member Ralek Gracie made his Bellator debut against knockout artist Hisaki Kato in a classic striker-grappler matchup.

As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from Bellator 170 in Inglewood, California.

Winner: Tito Ortiz

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

So long, Tito.

Ortiz unquestionably did what he set out to do Saturday night, winning his retirement fight with a first-round rear-naked choke of Chael Sonnen.

Tito landed an early takedown, and after an extended scramble and an ill-fated choke attempt from Sonnen, the larger Ortiz muscled his way to mount. From there, he got Sonnen's back and then locked on the fateful choke. It was all over in just under two-and-a-half minutes.

"I knew if I shot on Chael, he wouldn't be super strong," Ortiz said in the cage after the fight.

And he was right. Sonnen, who spent most of his career at middleweight, did not look to be in as good of a shape as Ortiz. 

Afterward, Ortiz formally retired, laying his gloves in the center of the cage. It was a cool moment for a fighter who, for all his cheesiness and heel tendencies, was an extremely important fighter for Bellator, the UFC and all of MMA history. May retirement treat him well.

Loser: Chael Sonnen

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Gregory Payan/Associated Press

The choke was not entirely under Sonnen's neck, but the pressure was hard enough that Sonnen tapped.

It was the ninth submission loss of Sonnen's pro career. At age 39 and after such a flat performance—and with such a robust career in broadcasting and what have you—perhaps it should be his last.

Sonnen swept Ortiz early on and went for a D'arce choke, but Ortiz, a natural light heavyweight, was able to find full mount on a soggy Sonnen without a ton of effort.

This was Sonnen's first fight in more than three years. If he really wants to keep doing it, even in this fairly novelty-laden capacity, he may need to make some substantial adjustments.

Winner: Paul Daley

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Brennan Ward is unconscious after Paul Daley's knockout.Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

The MMA Twittersphere had to be hosed off well and proper-like after Paul Daley's picture-perfect flying-knee knockout of Brennan Ward in the first round of their co-main event.

Ward looked to hold the early advantage after a couple of takedowns, but during an exchange along the fence, Daley grabbed Ward's arm and launched a spinning back elbow that found the mark. Ward wheeled back, giving Daley the space he needed to launch the flying knee.

It's probably not possible for a knee to land any flusher on an opponent's jaw. Ward was out before he hit the ground.

Ward was carried out on a stretcher as a precaution but gave a thumbs-up to the fans on his way out. Hopefully he winds up being OK. 

Back in the cage, Daley wasted no time calling out UFC veteran Rory MacDonald, noting that MacDonald would get "knocked the f---k out" if they stepped in the cage together.

That's a nice fight, but give me Michael "Venom" Page as Daley's next opponent instead. I believe I would watch that.

Losers: Ralek Gracie and Hisaki Kato

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Ralek Gracie (left) and Hisaki KatoJayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

History will record that Hisaki Kato defeated Ralek Gracie by unanimous decision Saturday night.

What it may not record as clearly is that this was one of the worst fights in recent memory.

A largely actionless stalemate, the fight had Gracie showing every bit of the rust he accumulated in nearly seven years of MMA inactivity. His striking, what there was of it, was wooden and defensive in nature. He stayed well clear of any real engagement and stalled quite a bit. It continued that way on the ground as well.

Kato was well clear of most action too. Wary of getting too close so that Gracie could drag him to the mat, Kato threw only sporadically and only to stay as minimally busy as he could. 

It got so bad that at one point referee Jason Herzog warned them both for timidity. Jason Herzog was the real winner in this fight. That's how boring and bad it was.

You know what? I think Meryl Streep was right after all.

Loser: Kevin Casey

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Kevin Casey sure is a big draw on MMA cards.

Ah, that's my little joke. Casey did it again on the prelim portion of the card when he notched the second draw of his career, this one with Bellator journeyman Keith Berry.

A veteran of The Ultimate Fighter and six UFC contests, Casey's career pattern is pretty discernible by now. His Bellator debut didn't change that. Casey came out strong and dominated Berry, particularly on the ground, which is Casey's wheelhouse. There was an easy case for a 10-8 score in that round.

And then he gassed.

He gassed badly. It allowed Berry to sneak back in and take the draw despite Casey's dominant beginning. Just another strange notch in a strange career for Casey, whose record now sits at 9-5-2 (2).

Bellator 170 Full Card Results

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Jack May won his Bellator debut.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Main Card

Tito Ortiz def. Chael Sonnen by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:03, Rd. 1

Paul Daley def. Brennan Ward by KO, 2:27, Rd. 1

Hisaki Kato def. Ralek Gracie by unanimous decision

Emmanuel Sanchez def. Georgi Karakhanyan by majority decision

Derek Campos def. Derek Anderson by unanimous decision


Preliminary Card

Guilherme Vasconcelos def. John Mercurio by TKO, 0:41, Rd. 2

Kevin Casey vs. Keith Berry ruled majority draw

Alex Soto def. DeMarcus Brown by unanimous decision

Chinzo Machida def. Jamar Ocampo by TKO, 3:48, Rd. 3

Jalin Turner def. Gabriel Green by KO, 0:36, Rd. 1

Jack May def. Dave Cryer by TKO, 0:41, Rd. 1

Daniel Rodriguez def. Christian Gonzalez by TKO, 3:55, Rd. 2


Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter. 

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