The build up to Stephan Bonnar and Tito Ortiz’s light heavyweight fight may have seemed a little odd, but their fight certainly lived up to the hype. They duked it out in the middle of the cage tonight with the crowd solidly behind Tito Ortiz. Bonnar, as promised, was cut open and laughed through it.

The opening round saw both men exchange their fair share of shots. Ortiz ate the best of Bonnar’s and Bonnar ate the best of Ortiz’s. It was not the striking game that would dictate the future of this bout, though, as much as it was Ortiz’s grappling.

Ortiz was constantly working for the takedown and usually executed it with ease. What Ortiz did struggle with was keeping Bonnar on the mat and back to his feet. Regardless, Ortiz was making Bonnar carry his body weight for a brief amount of time and made him work to get back to his feet; Bonnar was expending more energy than he wanted and his gas tank suffered because of it.

In the end, it was Ortiz who would have his hand raised by split decision. His wrestling and takedown skills were simply too much for an exhausted Bonnar to fight off.

After the bout, Ortiz stated he still had no respect for Bonnar and he wanted to fight him again.

Tito Ortiz def. Stephan Bonnar by way of Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)