Tito Ortiz’s retirement would’ve lasted just about a month had he been Fedor Emelianenko’s replacement opponent at Bellator 172.
Emelianenko was set to take on former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight Matt Mitrione inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California last month. It wasn’t meant to be at Bellator 172 as Mitrione was forced off the card due to kidney stones.
“The Last Emperor” vs. Mitrione has been rebooked for Bellator NYC, but Ortiz had offered to step in to face Emelianenko at Bellator 172. That bout also didn’t come to fruition as Bellator decided it was simply too late to have the fight take place.
In a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” explained why he offered to step in:
“I said (the) hell with it. I was in fight shape at the time. It was only three weeks after my fight, and I was still in fight shape. If they needed me at that time, it was one time I would have done it. They sat and thought about it for a good hour-and-a-half and said, ‘We can’t do it that quick,’ and I said alright. It was a one-time chance, and that’s it. I moved on.”
