Tito Ortiz Said He Would’ve Fought Fedor At Bellator 172
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz retired after submitting Chael Sonnen in the main event of Bellator 170.
However, when Matt Mitrione was forced to pull out of a fight against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 172, the retired fighter wanted to step in at the last minute to fight.
“I looked over at (Bellator President) Scott Coker, and this was probably two hours before the fight, and he said, ‘You know what? If you’d told me three hours ago, we would have been working on it,'” Ortiz told MMA Junkie Radio.
If the fight did come to fruition, it would have been the second time that Ortiz would’ve come out of retirement, as he unretired when he signed with Bellator MMA after a lengthy stint with the UFC.
Even though the former champion missed out on a huge opportunity, it isn’t something that’s weighing on his mind.
“They sat and thought about it for a good hour-and-a-half and said, ‘We can’t do it that quick,’ and I said alright,” he continued. “It was a one-time chance, and that’s it. I moved on.”
The fight between Fedor and Mitrione has been rescheduled for Bellator 180, which takes place on June 24 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
