Tito: Fight with Sonnen will be my last

Tito Ortiz fights Chael Sonnen in the main event of Bellator MMA 170 on January 21, 2017. Ortiz began fighting in 1997. Now 41, he said recently on his social network that the Sonnen fight will be his last.

The reference below is to the rescheduling of UFC 208 to another date. It had been planned for the same night, in the same state.

https://twitter.com/titoortiz/status/804791130122354688https://twitter.com/titoortiz/status/804814571592511488

Mixed Martial Arts began on ‎November 12, 1993 with UFC 1. Just three and a half years later, Tito Ortiz made his MMA debut, in the UFC, in a four-man tournament. The same event saw the debut of Randy Couture, who retired in 2011.

Ortiz would go on to win the UFC light heavyweight belt in 2000, successfully defend it five times, and lose it to Randy Couture in 2003. Ortiz lost the next one, to Chuck Liddell, and then won five more in a row.

Then from 2006 to 2012, Tito went just 1-7-1. However, the dismal numbers are deceiving. The draw was to future champion Rashad Evans, and included a 1 point penalty against Ortiz for fence holding. One of the two decision losses to future light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin was split. So Tito was perhaps diminished but still a force.

Ortiz set a number of records in the UFC, including:
•Tied for Most fights in UFC history (27) with Frank Mir and Michael Bisping
•Most championship fights in the light heavyweight division (9)
•Most championship rounds fought on light heavyweight division (28)
•Most wins in the light heavyweight division (15)

In 2014, Ortiz signed with Bellator MMA, and saw his career turn around. He tapped out then middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, and next beat fellow UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar via split decision. Then Tito lost a title shot vs. Liam McGeary.

And now he plans one last fight, at Bellator 170, on January 21, 2017, at The Forum in Inglewood, California.