Last weekend, UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz met for a third time. They did so in the main event of the first MMA card promoted by long-time boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
While some fight fans were impressed by Oscar De La Hoya’s first MMA offering, Bellator MMA star Chael Sonnen was not. In fact, he’s calling it a ‘disaster.’
Here’s what Chael Sonnen had to say about the Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz rematch.
What can we learn from the Tito Ortiz vs Chuck Liddell disaster… pic.twitter.com/aDDhNhdO9K
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 25, 2018
“Tremendous lesson from the Tito vs Chuck disaster,” he said on his Beyond the Fight podcast. “Oscar is not passionate about mixed martial arts, and that was very clear and very obvious. When it comes to storytelling and anticipation, you cannot just set up a ring and the rest takes care of itself.”
“I have heard fighters threaten that they’re going to leave and start their own promotion,” Sonnen continued. “Go ahead. Go right ahead. That’s essentially what we saw here. So Chuck and Tito come together, go to Oscar, pitch him on an idea that Oscar was never passionate about, he was never behind, with a story that he simply didn’t know how to tell. It doesn’t make Oscar a bad promoter. The lesson to be learned from this is you’ve got to stay in your lane.”
Chael Sonnen also took a dig at Chuck Liddell shortly after Liddell was knocked out by Tito Ortiz on this Golden Boy MMA card.
MMA
FIGHTER
LAUNCHES
WHISKEY
BRANDCHUCK
LIDDELL
WHISKEY"GOES DOWN SMOOTH EVERY TIME…"
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 25, 2018
“MMA fighter launches whiskey brand,” Sonnen said. “Chuck Liddell Whiskey: ‘Goes down smooth every time.’”
What do you think of Chael Sonnen’s comments on Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Oscar De La Hoya?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/26/2018.