Real American Freestyle held its first show on Saturday fromCleveland, Ohio and the event, which was broadcast live on Fox Nation, was full of surprises. In addition to former UFC Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm stepping in at the last minute in to compete, UFC legend Tito Ortiz appeared to challenge another former champion and major name in the sport.
Ortiz, a UFC Hall of Famer, challenged Chael Sonnen, a former middleweight and light heavyweight champion, to a match at Real American Freestyle 2. The 48 year old Sonnen, who was on commentary for the show, was confronted by Ortiz, 50, who came from the crowd. He accepted the challenge immediately.
The fighters faced off once in their storied careers, at Bellator 170. Ortiz submitted Sonnen with a rear-naked choke just over two minutes into the first round. A rematch was teased in the MMA world over the years, but never came to fruition. After Ortiz's challenge, the pair look set to face off in the unscripted professional wrestling league, founded by the late Hulk Hogan and former WCW executive Eric Bischoff.
In an update ahead of the league's inaugural show Saturday morning, WrestleTix reported that 3,777 tickets had been sold.The date or location of "RAF2" has yet to be announced.
