Tito Ortiz will be returning to the octagon at UFC in October at UFC 121. However this fight may be different for the Hunington Beach Bad Boy as he squares off against Matt Hamill, who was once his student.
Both Hamill and Ortiz have strong wrestling backgrounds, but Hamill is also known for his power, winning most of his fights by TKO.
Hamil had first entered UFC during The Ultimate Fighter: Team Shamrock vs. Team Ortiz. He was not only a member of Team Ortiz, but he was also Ortiz‘s first pick.
Hamill had to leave the competition in the middle of the show, but he did end up fighting at the season finale, defeating fellow Ultimate Fighter alumni Jesse Forbes by TKO in the first round.
Since the Ultimate Fighter, Hamill has won seven of his nine last fights, earning victories over such fighters as Keith Jardine, Seth Petruzelli, and Mark Munoz.
It was also after the The Ultimate Fighter that Hamill continued to train with Ortiz at Team Punishment, a martial arts operated by Ortiz.
While Ortiz is known for trash talking and employing psychological warfare with his opponents (such as Ken Shamrock, Chuck Liddell, and even UFC President Dana White), his attitude seems to have changed with this fight.
Although he told Joe Rogan in an interview, that this fight is not personal to him and just business, Ortiz has yet to employ any intimidation techniques towards Hamill. He also said that Hamill has since left Team Punishment.
However, there is still time before the fight and Ortiz is known for his weight in and press conference shenanigans.
Ortiz is also coming off of surgery from multiple injuries as well as a split decision loss to Forrest Griffin back in November. He was scheduled to face Chuck Liddell at UFC 115, but had to withdraw from the fight due to injury.
The Ortiz and Hamill fight has the makings of a classic confrontation between master and former student.
Ortiz is looking to get his fight career back on track, and a win over Hamill could propel him in the right direction.
While Ortiz has voiced his intentions of earning another world championship, a victory over his former sensei may earn Hamill a future title shot, or at least another name to his MMA credentials.
In addition to Hamill and Ortiz, UFC 121 will also feature the debut of former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Jake Shields, former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and EliteXC Welterweight Champion, as well Brock Lesnar versues Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title.
To check out the rest of the UFC 121 card, follow the link below.
UFC 121 preview
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