What’s the story?
Bellator 170 is on the horizon and ‘The American Gangster’ has added extra zing to the pre-fight trash talk in the build-up to his fight against Tito Ortiz. In a recent promotional press conference held by Bellator Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Ortiz and Sonnen took turns, firing verbal jabs against each other.
Ortiz landed first, stating that it was Chael Sonnen’s big mouth that landed him big fights throughout his career, not his fighting skills. He went on to add that when the time comes to perform, Sonnen fails.
In reply to this, Sonnen decided to up the ante by taking the low road. Sonnen took a shot at the mother of Ortiz’s twin kids, famous adult actress, Jenna Jameson. Sonnen stated that the only person he knew, who made money using his/her mouth, was Ortiz’s ex-girlfriend, Jameson.
Referencing her pornographic career, Sonnen’s verbal jab, led to a cringe-worthy session of back-and-forth trash talking at the Bellator 170 press conference.
In case you didn’t know...
The rivalry between ‘The American Gangster’ Chael Sonnen (29-14-1) and ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ Tito Ortiz (18-12-1) dates back to their college wrestling days when Sonnen pinned Ortiz in a matter of seconds. Fast forward to 2017, and we have the two Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veterans facing each other in the Bellator MMA cage.
Ortiz is a former UFC Light Heavyweight (205-pound) Champion and an MMA legend. Sonnen, on the other hand, is a longtime MMA veteran and steroid offender, who is known for his motor-mouth trash talking abilities, more than his fighting skills. Jenna Jameson is Ortiz’s ex-partner and one of the most famous adult actresses, of all time.
The heart of the matter
Ortiz started the war of words with Sonnen, and it goes without saying that in the game of talking trash no one can outdo Sonnen. Sonnen’s personal jab at Ortiz is just one example of ‘The American Gangster’s’ long history of involving his opponents’ personal lives in trash talk. Here are a few excerpts from his recent interview: (Courtesy: MMAMania)
“Tito always says I’m using my mouth to get my opportunities. The only person that I know that made money using their mouth is his ex-wife. This show is free on Spike TV. That means everyone can afford it — except for Tito. Because he’s broke. Get it?”
Sonnen concluded the interview by implying that his verbal volleys have served their purpose. The purpose being to break Tito Ortiz.
What’s next?
As of now, Sonnen and Ortiz are all set to face each other at Bellator 170 in Inglewood, California on January 21st, 2017. Both MMA veterans have been trashing each other, verbally, for quite a few months, now.
As far as the fight is concerned, MMA fans can expect their wrestling to cancel out each other, as a result of which, we may get a stand-up battle. Sonnen and Ortiz may be past their primes as far as athleticism is concerned. However, their trash talking skills and ability to hype up their fights seems to have remained the same, over the years.
Sportskeeda’s take
Sonnen throwing jabs at an opponent’s personal life isn’t all that surprising.
However, considering the fact that Jameson and Ortiz are separated, and that Jameson is a working mother of two, Sonnen could have restricted his trash talk to Ortiz and Ortiz’s team. However, Sonnen being Sonnen, decided to take things one step further and dragged Jameson into the Bellator 170, promotional circus.
Ortiz, on his part, seemed visibly shook and genuinely put-off after Sonnen’s verbal tirades. Ortiz is a big-time trash talker, himself, however, he seemed to be flummoxed by Sonnen’s sudden attack on his past relationship.
Regardless of what that may do to Ortiz’s psyche heading into Bellator 170, it’s safe to assume that with a build-up like this, Sonnen vs Ortiz seems to be picking steam as we approach January 21st.
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