Bellator fighter and former UFC champion Tito Ortiz has been cited for misdemeanor battery after a nightclub scuffle with a woman in Las Vegas in the early hours of Friday morning.
According to TMZ Sports, the incident occured when Ortiz tried to take a mobile phone off the unidentified woman outside the Drai’s nightclub. The woman had been taking pictures inside the establishment earlier in the evening, and she thinks the light-heavyweight star may have thought that he was the subject of her snaps.
The situation escalated with the woman telling TMZ that Ortiz tried to “whip her around” as he attempted to rip the phone out of her hand and that she, “feared for [her] life” during the altercation which lead to police being called to the scene.
Ortiz wasn’t arrested at the scene, but was cited and the alleged victim is now assessing her legal options in relation to the matter.
The 41 year-old Ortiz was last seen in the Bellator cage fighting for the light-heavyweight title against Liam McGeary, losing by a first round inverted triangle choke back in September. That ended a two-fight winning streak since coming out of retirement to fight for the organization in which he’d defeated Emmanuel Newton and Stephan Bonnar.
