UFC President Dana White hasn’t been shy to show his disdain for Bellator MMA in the past.
On Jan. 21, at Bellator 170, Tito Ortiz submitted Chael Sonnen with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their main event fight. After the fight, many fans claimed that the fight looked to be fixed.
This may have been a perfect opportunity for White to attack Bellator, but White admits there is no way that fight was fixed.
“There’s no way in hell that was a work,” White said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “I’d love to come on here and s**t all over Bellator, but there’s no way that was a work. The thing you’ve got to remember, he’s a good wrestler, never was Chael some big jiu-jitsu guy. And when Tito Ortiz is cranking your f**king head off, you’re 40 f**king years old…maybe I should tap out here.”
Ortiz retired from MMA following his 19th win in the sport. He is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.
This fight was Sonnen’s Bellator debut. He had not competed in MMA since he last fought in the UFC over three years ago.
