White: I released Bonnar, wish him the best
Dana White: “What Stephan Bonnar told me is that he wants to beat the shit out of Tito Ortiz, and I’m always down for that, so I released him.”
It is not often that two UFC Hall of Fame members fight each other. It is rarer still, by far, when it happens in another organization. Add in the fact that it happened with UFC president Dana White’s blessing, and this is, truly, a first.
White granted Stephan Bonnar a release from his contract, in order to fight in Bellator.
“I released him to do it,” said White. “He was still under contract with us. We released him to do it and I wish him the best. He was retired. What he told me is that he wants to beat the shit out of Tito, and I’m always down for that, so I released him.”
Bonnar is coming off a 2012 loss to Anderson Silva. He tested positive for PEDs after the fight, and was suspended for a year. Ortiz is coming off a win over Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko. A date for Bonnar vs. Ortiz is expected shortly.
