On paper at least, Tito Ortiz has had a pretty darn successful late career. He is 4-1 in his last five fights. That includes wins against two UFC hall of famers in Chuck Liddell and Stephan Bonnar, another against world-ranked middleweight Alexander Shlemenko. Oh, and a submission victory against three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen.

And according to recent comments, it appears that Ortiz wants a do-over against the ‘American Gangster’.

Sonnen, who is part-fighter & part analyst and commentator nowadays, was very critical of Ortiz’s recent bout against longtime rival Liddell — and despite Ortiz saying that the Liddell bout would be his last, he is leaving the door ajar for another scrap against Sonnen.

@ChaelSonnen so you want me to kick your ass again? This time I’m not going to choke you out. I’m going to beat you down. Or are just infatuated by the way I live.? 🤫

— Tito Ortiz (@titoortiz) December 3, 2018

Poor Tito…(part 3) pic.twitter.com/oBBQHWdx5b

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 30, 2018

“So you want me to kick your ass again?” Ortiz wrote in his missive. “This time I’m not going to choke you out. I’m going to beat you down. Or are you just infatuated by the way I live?”

The two fighters first met in January in last year in the main event of Bellator 170, with Ortiz winning by rear naked choke just over two minutes into the first round.

It remains to be seen if Bellator, who currently hold Sonnen’s contractual rights, would book the bout but if it proves anything, it is that combat sports retirements are to be taken with a pinch of salt at the best of times.