Bellator 170: Chael Sonnen critiques Tito Ortiz’s smack talk

Tonight, Bellator 170 hits the Forum in Englewood, California with a very solid offering from MMA’s No. 2 promotion. The card features matches that will surely provide plenty of action, like the slobberknocker-in-the-making between Brennan Ward and Paul Daley. But the crown jewel on this bout sheet is the long-awaited conclusion to the beef that’s been brewing between Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz for nearly two decades. It’s a contest that’s enjoyed the undivided attention of media outlets and fans alike, thanks to a UFC “off week,” so coverage has been bountiful over the last several days.

In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, Sonnen weighed in on the many disasters in Tito Ortiz’s attempts at owning the smack talk in their PR outings, and even went so far as to offer his longtime foe his services in charming the public.

“He said that he ‘literally’ hoped that I soiled myself, which means he’s either really gross or he doesn’t understand what ‘literally’ means. My offer to him is the same as it was from back when we got started: Just run it past me first. Before you say anything, send me a text message. I’ll edit it and send it back—I’ll handle both sides of this thing for us. It’ll be great.

He won’t be able to perform it, though. It’s not like I can just give him the words. You can hand the lyrics of “Blue Suede Shoes” to anybody, but there’s a reason Elvis was the one out there in a blue jumpsuit singing it. I mean, I can’t fix everything, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

I was a little surprised by the juice box thing. I was like, ‘Tito, you brought in props which means you thought this out.’ He didn’t just freestyle that off the top of his head. This was a prepared statement. Who was your focus group? Who did you run that past and they said, ‘Yeah, do the juice box thing. Let’s do that!’?”

This is just one of many topics discussed during our 30-minute interview with Chael. You can listen to the entire interview HERE at the 31:25 mark or via the embedded player below. Sonnen and Ortiz will finally settle their beef in the Bellator 170 headliner tonight. The main card begins at 9pm EST on Spike TV.