Bellator 170 results: Tito Ortiz stuns Chael Sonnen, taps him out in first

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Tito Ortiz ended his long and decorated MMA career on a triumphant note, submitting Chael Sonnen in the first round with a rear-naked choke.

Ortiz escaped from an early D’Arce attempt from Sonnen and forced the trash-talking icon to give up his back, where he sunk in his fight-ending submission at the 2:03 mark of the opening frame.

The light heavyweight bout was the main event of today’s Bellator 170 event at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It aired on Spike TV following prelims on MMAjunkie.com.

After a brief skirmish with Sonnen on the feet, Ortiz grabbed a leg and took the fight to the ground. But he immediately was put on the defensive when Sonnen flipped him over and secured a headlock. There, Sonnen worked to set up a D’Arce before abandoning the attempt when he couldn’t fully wrap his arms around Ortiz’s neck.

Sonnen wasn’t out of moves, however. He quickly transitioned to a guillotine choke that forced Ortiz to wait things out. When the former UFC champ had the space, he popped his head free and got to work. Stepping from half-guard to mount, he landed a few elbows that gave Sonnen good reason to give up his back.

Sonnen briefly fought Ortiz’s hands, but eventually capitulated to the pressure.

“I don’t think the emotions have set in,” said Ortiz, who had his son lay his gloves down in the cage as a ceremonial gesture of his retirement.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 170 results include:

• Tito Ortiz def. Chael Sonnen via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:03
• Paul Daley def. Brennan Ward via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 2:27
• Hisaki Kato def. Ralek Gracie via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Emmanuel Sanchez def. Georgi Karakhanyan via majority decision (28-28, 28-27, 28-27)
• Derek Campos def. Derek Anderson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Henry Corrales def. Cody Bollinger via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 4:28
• Guilherme Vasconcelos def. John Mercurio via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:41
• Keith Berry vs. Kevin Casey declared majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
• Alex Soto def. Demarcus Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Chinzo Machida def. Jamar Ocampo via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 3:48
• Jalin Turner def. Gabriel Green via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:36
• Jack May def. Dave Cryer via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:41
• Daniel Rodriguez def. Christian Gonzalez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:55

For complete coverage of Bellator 170, check out the MMA Events section of the site.