Tito's last chance

For years, UFC fighter Tito Ortiz’s entrances have consisted of him walking from the locker room, to the octagon surrounded by his trainers and carrying an American flag. 

The moment he leaves the locker room, cheers and boos echo through out the crowd, while Eminem’s “Mosh” blasts through the speakers.

March 26 may be the last time fans get to see Ortiz’s entrance as he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24, which takes place at the Key Arena in Seattle.

UFC President Dana White has hinted at cutting Ortiz (15-8-1) from the promotion, after losing four of his five last fights.

 According to a November article on MMA Weekly, White said that he had thought he was going to cut Ortiz after his loss to Hamill until Ortiz told him he was not done fighting in the UFC.

“He asked me for one last chance, so I’m gonna do it,“ White said.  “This is definitely his last chance and he knows that too.”

Ortiz’s first stint with the UFC

Ortiz made his mixed martial arts debut in 1997, fighting in the UFC 13 Lightweight tournament as an alternate.  He lost to Guy Mezger in the finals of the tournament. 

Ortiz would continue to fight for the UFC.  Utilizing his wrestling ability and ground and pound, he would later avenge his loss against Mezger, and even win the UFC Light Heavyweight championship, successfully defend it five times.  He also would attain wins against fighters like Ken Shamrock, Wanderlei Silva, and Vitor Belfort.

Although he was one of UFC’s top stars, Ortiz was also suffering from a back injury, as well as personal problems between him and the UFC’s front office, mainly with UFC president Dana White.

Ortiz’s last fight was against Lyoto Machida in May 2008.  He would lose to Machida by unanimous decision.

Shortly after the loss to Machida, Ortiz said he would not be returning to the UFC. 

In an interview with MMA Weekly radio, Ortiz said his main reason for leaving the organization was due to treatment from the UFC president.

“He’s a monster and I am going to go elsewhere where they respect me,” Ortiz said.

Exile and return

After some time away from the UFC, Ortiz had back surgery.  He also began training in Brazilian Ju Jitsu.  Shortly after the birth of his tine sons, Ortiz said he had made amends with White in 2009, according to an interview with TapouT radio.  This eventually led to Ortiz being resigned by the UFC.

Ortiz’s opponent for his return bout was originally supposed to be against former heavyweight champion Mark Coleman.  Coleman withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by Forrest Griffin, a man Ortiz had beaten in 2006.  He ended up losing to Griffin by split decision.

Ortiz’s next fight would be against Matt Hamill, a man Ortiz had coached during the third season of the Ultimate Fighter reality tv series.  As with Griffin, Ortiz would lose the fight by decision.

Ortiz was scheduled to face longtime rival Chuck Liddell but had to pull out of the fight due to unknown reasons.

Lil’ Nog

Nogueira (19-4) is the twin brother of former UFC and PRIDE champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a Brazilian fighter in the heavyweight division.  He is currently in the top ten light heavyweights in the world, according to the USA Today and SB Nation consensus rankings.

According to an interview with the National Post, Nogueira said he is preparing for what he believes will be a difficult fight.

“Tito’s ground and pound is very good and he is a really talented athlete,” Nogueira said.  “This should be a great fight for the fans.”

Although Ortiz is known for his head games, he said he is taking a different approach when it comes to Nogueira, due to the respect he has for the Brazilian fighter.

“Lil Nog is one of the best fighters in the world,” Ortiz said. He’s dangerous on the feet and on the ground. That’s why you won’t hear me talking any smack.”

White said that the fight against Nogueira would be the biggest fight in Ortiz’s career.

“Lil Nog is ranked in the top 10 and a win puts Tito back in the mix,” White said.

Teacher and former student collide at UFC 121

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

My favorite fights: Chuck and Tito 2

My favorite MMA fights: Chuck and Tito 2

 

Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell  vs. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz
for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship

Date of fight: December 30, 2006

Outcome: Liddell wins via TKO in the first round at 3:59

 

 

 

Chuck and Liddell and Tito Ortiz.  Two UFC fighters who helped bring mixed martial arts into pop culture,  two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champs, and perhaps one of the most well known rivalries in the UFC.

I was more of a fan of the story behind the match, rather than the match itself.

 

This would be the second time Liddell and Ortiz would step into the octagon against one another.  They previously met at UFC 47: It's On! where Liddell defeated Ortiz by knock out, 38 seconds into the second round.  There was much hype going into the fight, as negotiations to get the match official, had taken months.  

 

Almost two years after their first encounter, the rematch between the two saw Liddell utilize his take down defense against Ortiz's wrestling.  Although Oritiz was able to get him down once, Liddell's striking prevailed and the Iceman successfully defended his title.

Recently both Ortiz and Liddell were to be coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11, as well as a rematch, but Ortiz pulled out of the fight.  For the last episode of the Ultimate Fighter, he was replaced by Rich Franklin, who would go on to fight Liddell at UFC 115, and defeat him by knock-out in the first round, with a broken hand.

 

At this time, the event was said to be UFC's biggest pay per view, with just over 1 million buys, according to Jeremy Botter of the Houston Chronicle.

UFC 106 predictions

UFC 106

This is a little half-assed prediction, but here are my picks.

Main Card

• Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz def. Forrest Griffin

• Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson

• Welterweight bout: Jacob Volkmann def. Paul Thiago
  

• Light Heavyweight bout: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Luiz Cane
  

• Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni

Preliminary Card

• Welterweight bout: Marcus Davis def. Ben Saunders

• Middleweight bout: Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt

• Welterweight bout: Brock Larson def. Brian Foster

• Lightweight bout: Fabricio Camoes def. Caol Uno

• Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent

Also Good luck to CCS Men's Soccer and Volleyball in the NWAACC championships.

Brock's loss is Tito's and Forrest's gain

First and foremost, Happy Veteran's Day. If you know or see a person in the Armed Forces, be sure to thank them, whether they be family, friends, or in my case, an old girlfriend.

Although this is old news, fans who were looking forward to see Brock Lesnar's first UFC Heavyweight Title defense after his "grand display" at UFC 100 (not his beating of Frank Mir, but rather his post-match shenanigans) will have to wait because he recently came down with a case of mono.

MMA news reports have thrown around theories that Lesnar's marriage to wife Rena Mero could be a sham. However my theory is that Lesnar drank some beer that was carrying mono. Bud Light refuses to comment at this time.

With Lesnar's fight against Shane Carwin at UFC 106 has been postponed, UFC has decided to move up the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin to the main event.

While I am partial to UFC cards carrying title matches, putting Ortiz and Griffin in the main event for UFC 106 was a great decision on the part of the MMA organization, mainly because of the demons both fighters are bringing into this match.

Ortiz is coming back from a one-year hiatus from the company due to some falling out with the company's president Dana White. Griffin is looking to get back on the winning track after suffering two losses, his most recent loss coming from Anderson Silva from UFC 101.

Both men are former UFC Light Heavyweight champions, both men participated on the UFC's Ultimate fighter; Ortiz was a coach for season 3, while Griffin was the winner of season 1, and a coach on season 7.

Both man have the prestige, fan base, and respect that Lesnar and Carwin have only recently experienced.

Initially Ortiz was going to face Marc "The Hammer" Coleman, who was later injured in training. Griffin stepped up to replace Coleman, despite already having a loss to Ortiz back in UFC 59: Reality Check.

Also on main card for UFC 106 is another light heavyweight match between Luiz Cane and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (twin brother of Minotauro). and 3 welterweight fights: Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson, Karo Parisyan vs. Dusin Hazelet, and Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni.

UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 takes place Nov. 21.

(My prediction is that Ortiz will beat Griffin).