Tito Ortiz accused of “taking a dive” in KO defeat by Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva knocked out Tito Ortiz in just 82-seconds this past weekend, but Chael Sonnen controversially thinks his former rival took a dive in the fight

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has accused former rival Tito Ortiz of throwing his fight against Anderson Silva.

Silva picked up his third win inside the boxing ring this past weekend when he knocked out fellow UFC legend Tito Ortiz in just over a minute.

Sonnen and Ortiz – who are bitter rivals – fought each other in 2017 with Ortiz coming out on top by way of a second-round submission.

Ortiz made his boxing debut against Silva and after initially praising his opponent for the win, he claimed Silva hit him with an illegal shot for the knockout.

He said in a now-deleted tweet: “Nice right hand. But I didn’t know punching behind the head were legal. I need to practice this combo. Now I know why the back of my head has been sore as hell.”

And Sonnen a shot at his former rival Ortiz stating he intentionally “took a dive” against Silva.

He said : “Now, this is all on the heels of Tito taking a dive. And when Tito took that dive it’s a really tough spot because who’s going to say he took the dive? It can’t be Anderson. Anderson wants the credit.”

“So, you end up in this really tough spot, but Tito has now gone even a little bit further, saying that the shot was also illegal. He knows it’s illegal because the back of my head is, and I quote, ‘Sore as hell’.

“So, we have this punch that we’ve all seen that was done by a much smaller man, 21 seconds into a contest, who was wearing a pillow on his hand known as a 16-ounce boxing glove that rendered one athlete completely unconscious.

“A reaction that athlete has never had in his entire career of fighting. To go down and be out till the referee says 10; then jump back up, have a smile on your face, grab the flag, walk into the back, make your next call-out.

Do you think Ortiz took a dive against Silva? Let us know in the comments section below

“Everything here was done very interesting, including changing of the topic and making it an illegal blow.”

Ortiz thanked Silva after the fight for giving his first-class seat up so Ortiz’s partner could sit next to him on their flight home.

Whilst Ortiz’s fighting future is unclear, Silva is targeting fights against Jake or Logan Paul next.

Silva says he respects the Paul brothers – who have been at forefront of celebrity boxing in the past year – and would love to fight either of them.

He told TMZ Sports : “I respect both. The kids are doing good and working hard to be successful in this entertainment show. And let’s go see. Maybe this is possible too.”