Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Reactions to Tito Ortiz-Stephan Bonnar segment from Bellator 123
Sep 9, 2014 - 1:20:16 PM ROUNDTABLE: Reactions to Tito Ortiz-Stephan Bonnar segment from Bellator 123

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

What was your reaction to the Stephan Bonnar-Tito Ortiz segment on Bellator's show on Friday and that bout headlining on Nov. 15 opposite UFC 180? Are you remotely interested in that fight at all?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

My reaction was anger. Not anger at the skit; the skit I ignored. But anger at the fact that out of 100 people talking about Friday night's Bellator show, 90 are talking about Justin McCully, and 10 are talking about Patricio Freire. 95 are talking about Stephan Bonnar, 5 are talking about Will Brooks and Michael Chandler. It irritates me that they're letting a relic, a has-been, and a never-was-or-will be overshadow Patricio Freire, Pat Curran, Will Brooks, and Michael Chandler. I'm glad there's a legitimate second option for soon-to-be disgruntled UFC fighters who are looking to negotiate bigger deals (ala Gilbert Melendez), but I'm sick to think that the second option is a wannabe-TNA Wrestling company that thinks the way to legitimize themselves is to put Justin McCully in a mask and push that over some of the best fighters in the world.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I'll answer the second question first. No, I'm not interested in this fight. Well, maybe a little tiny bit, but not enough to justify this being the main event. As for the segment, I'm OK with the idea of injecting some showmanship into things, but the execution was pretty bad. The masked man reveal was ridiculous. You could probably count the number of people who knew that was Justin McCully on one hand. They were trying to generate some interest, but the way they did it was pretty bad and didn't play to the strengths of those involved. If they want to do this kind of stuff in the future, they need to plan it out better.


KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Not that interested. But I find it hilarious that people are hating on Bellator and giving them crap when those same individuals LOVED the Jones-DC brawl. Both were done to build hype, but only one is getting the criticism.


TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR

One word describes Bellator's stunt on Friday night: desperate. When Scott Coker took over the reins from Bjorn Rebney, I really thought we wouldn't see any more stupid stunts in Bellator. Well, it's officially hit an all time low.

First, who really wants to see Stephan Bonnar and Tito Ortiz fight? That's right, no one! What do they have to offer? Little to nothing.

Ortiz, now 39, has only won two of his last ten fights. Bonnar is no spring chicken at 37, and he does have a more respectable record (5-5) in his last ten fights, but that also includes two failed drug tests, the latest being popped after his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 153, which led to his retirement.

The whole saga of them entering the ring, Bonnar bringing in a masked man - especially when nobody had a clue who he was even after he was revealed - was ridiculous. Throw in some cheap smack talk, pushing and shoving, and bingo, there you have it: WWE brought to you by a two year old. It was a complete shamble.

This is the last time I'm going to think about this fight.


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST

I don't normally get to see any Bellator events because it's virtually impossible to watch live here in the UK unless you do it illegally (I don't). I did, however, get to see the embarrassing confrontation between Bonnar and Ortiz. In that regard, it's clearly served its purpose and reached a larger audience. Will I now forget all about UFC 180 and concentrate solely on finding away to watch this fight? Not a chance in hell. I'd already forgotten about it until I saw this question.

Why on earth would anyone on earth want to watch two desperate geriatrics instead of tuning in to see the best heavyweight in the UFC? In addition to Velasquez vs. Werdum, there are four other announced main card fights that all excite me more than Bonner vs. Ortiz. I'm disappointed that Scott Coker has decided to go down this route, because I expected better from him. I thought his vision and foresight for the company would potentially swing it in a new, positive direction. I admit that I was wrong and incredibly naïve.


ALVIN CARTER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

I was sitting cageside when that happened, and I have to say it caught me off guard, but the reality is it was not happening for fans like me or most of the people reading MMA Torch. Stephan Bonnar is trying to sell a fight, and make enough noise about Tito Ortiz so his banned substances issue is not the center of attention. To be honest, it is a great strategy on his part. He has no where to go but up.

Many of us MMA fans seemed to forget about the years they spend watching the Million Dollar Man, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin "tell it like it is." Yes, MMA is not professional wrestling, but ratings are ratings. The hype will draw people who might still be into professional wrestling, or who might like the drama that is inherent in MMA. That is not surprising when you look at Brock Lesnar's fan base or even Bobby Lashley's. There is a demo that loves drama and the demo that does not care as much (you and me), probably will not stop watching just because one guy brought out another guy in a mask. If anything people will watch so they can criticize, and that still helps ratings.

I am going to watch the fight because Bellator has one of the people that carried MMA through a dark period in one corner, and another guy who is half of the reason why MMA is as important as it is in the other corner. All the antics are inconsequential or icing on the cake if you are a fan of the dramatic.