Alexander Shlemenko Calls Out Tito Ortiz For Light-Heavyweight PPV Bout
Reigning Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko is quite possibly the best 185-pound fighter outside of the UFC right now. ‘Storm’ is currently riding a 13-fight win spree, including victories over Doug Marshall, Zelg Galesic, Brett Cooper, Miquel Falcao and Brian Rogers. His outstanding 57-fight career has seen him win 29 by knockout and eight by submission.
The talent level over at Bellator is clearly a step below the bigger organization, but Shlemenko still has the choice of a few UFC veterans to call out. In a recent interview with Rus Fighters, ‘Storm’ makes his challenge to former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, check it out:
“Tito Ortiz: You say you want to fight May 17 on Bellator’s pay-per-view. I will fight you. I will beat you. Tito, I respect you. But I must beat you because I’m champion”
A fight with Ortiz doesn’t make sense to me, as ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ has only one win in eight years. The only reason I can see is that the bout (may) sell tickets and there really aren’t many other big names for Shlemenko to fight on a pay per view card. A scrap with Quinton Jackson would probably be more entertaining and relevant, but King Mo already jumped on that ship.
In recent times, it seems as though Bellator has thrown out it’s policy on retaining legitimacy and has opted for pro wrestling style call-outs and story lines. In a world where your name means more than your skills, Shlemenko will probably end up battering Ortiz for no reason and with relative ease. That being said, check out the video of ‘Storm’ calling out Ortiz, and prepare to be thoroughly entertained.
