[Aaron]

Tito Ortiz: The Return
Written by Ken Mace
Monday, 06 April 2009 17:58

What do you think when you hear the name, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz? Some would say Tito is a whiner, or an eye of controversy in the UFC. Or maybe you think of a great light heavyweight champion, and one of the main guys who helped launch the UFC and MMA into the main stream. Tito has always been charismatic and highly criticized, but has always been a showman. Either way, love him or hate him, we all know who Tito Ortiz is and what he brings to the table when he is on your card. Frankly, Tito Ortiz sparks a crowd, pay per view buys, and ratings...and his return to MMA is rapidly approaching. There are several questions that arise such as when does he return and more importantly, for which company does he return with?


But before we attempt to figure out where Tito will land, or where he should land, let’s see what landed him on the sidelines. All MMA fighters deal with injuries and in extreme situations they require surgery. Tito has stated many times that since his fight with UFC legend Randy Couture, he has had back problems. Back problems that never healed, and back problems that never went away. Eventually it came to the point that it was either time for surgery, or retire from being an active fighter. With a lot of research and opinions Ortiz decided on the surgery. The same surgery as Nate Quarry. But one kicker in the whole situation was that the UFC denied his claim for insurance coverage. A low blow that would be hard for anyone to accept in the fight game. Still after a lot of deliberation Tito decided to go with Dr. William Smith out of Las Vegas, Nevada. On October 6, 2008 Tito went under the knife for three hours only to be back on his feet and walking out of the facility on his own an hour later. With only a rehab and recovery ahead of him, Tito had vowed to come back better then ever.


So fast forward from October 6 to now, March 27. We are over five months into the recovery process, and at a recent UFC event Tito had said he was going to fight in August. August would be in the ten month range since the surgery which is where it had been said he would be able to fight. Nate Quarry actually fought nine months after his surgery. So with the new rumors up in the air, its time to wonder who, what, when, and where? It’s obvious what you get with Tito: a fighter with a 16-6-1 record, former light heavyweight champion, and more than likely a UFC hall of famer. He has scored wins over the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Patrick Cote, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ken Shamrock, and Forrest Griffin. So obviously the credentials are there for any promotion in the world to want this fighter, but what are the possibilities?


Obviously money will be an issue, because Tito is a fighter who has always been paid and has wanted more. Although, not the worse out there, he has had a subpar record over his last few fights including a loss to Lyoto Machida(14-0), and a draw to Rashad Evans(13-0-1. As such, it’s hard to lobby for a big pay cheque when you haven't dominated lately. Even with the impressive showing against Evans who is the current light heavyweight champion, and the win over the most recent defending champion Forrest Griffin, it is still a hard case. Coming off a major surgery, Tito will more than likely be forced to sign a short term deal with decent coin for two or three fights to see where he is at among the top contenders in the world. It will be difficult to convince Ortiz of taking less money especially if he draws the ratings or buys that he did in his last UFC fights.

With all of those considerations, there is only two possible places for him to land…


The first of is Strikeforce. With the new assets from Elite XC, including fighters and television contracts, the Strikeforce product is on the rise and a huge marquee name fighter like Ortiz would only help to build the company. Additionally, there is a lot of new competition in Strikeforce for Ortiz, including current two-o-five champion Babalu Sobral. Tito has also said many times that he would like to help build a company up inside the cage and outside, so Strikeforce would seem like the perfect fit as a company on the rise.


Now before we get to the UFC, I have to bring up Affliction as an MMA company. Tito obviously has ties to Affliction MMA with his ties to Donald Trump, and the fact that he ran commentary for their last pay per view. But with the rumors of the company going under, and now them going head to head with UFC 100, it doesn't seem like a viable option with the chances better then 50% that there will not be an Affliction MMA product by the end of this year. However the option would be there for a one fight deal to help Affliction go head to head with the UFC 100 event. We know the money would probably be right with their reported payouts.


That brings us to the UFC. The UFC is the face of MMA, and by far the biggest company out there. They have solid footing in the sport and Ortiz has all his ties to MMA from the UFC’s octagon. However, the long running feud with Dana White could be the deciding factor in Ortiz not returning to the company. In what has been a more heated feud then the Ortiz-Shamrock rivalry, the White-Ortiz battle has been very public and has escaladed to what could be a point of no return for Ortiz. The UFC does have the right to match any contract offer until June, but with his recovery time being August that shouldn't be a big deal. But for a fighter at the level of Ortiz, is there any other place except the UFC for him? The UFC has the top talent, and is widely recognized as having the best and deepest division in MMA at 205. With the history, and all that surrounds the UFC it is probably the best place for Ortiz but we can never say he will return there with the Dana White issue.


In this writer’s opinion, the best place for Tito Ortiz is in the limelight of the UFC. But if he is serious about promoting MMA inside and outside the octagon then I would be happy to see him in Strikeforce. Either way Ortiz belongs inside a cage, fighting and stirring up controversy like only he can. But until we know who, where, and when....we are only left to wonder what can be.

discuss

[Sinister]

Tito has to take a pay cut, and he has to know that by now. It just comes down to how he wants to move on with his career.

Go to Strikeforce, be the marquee name, and try to help out a promotion with a lot of potential to be an MMA front runner. The only problem is, he will more than likely be paid less than the UFC would pay him, which he feels is garbage.

Or go back to the UFC, fight the best LHW fighters in the world, and try to get back into the mix (which I still feel he can). He'll get paid more, but won't get the poster boy image he wants. He'd have to work for that.

I'd be happy with either promotion. In Strikeforce we'd get to see Tito vs. Sobral, and Tito vs. Fejiao. And I don't need to say all the fights that are there for him in the UFC.

I just want to see Tito back.

[southpaw447]

TBH, I hate Tito so I'm going to be as unbaised as possible.

He needs to face the fact that he is not the same fighter that he was 6+ years ago. He is a good fighter but he needs to really humble up (which I believe is far beyond his capability)

But if he can come to realization that Tito Ortiz is not all that and a bag of potato chips, he can probably end up being a serious threat to a lot of guys.

Tito's ego is the biggest thing that's been holding him back since he stepped up to fight Randy for the LHW Title Unification.

Strikeforce would be the best place for him to finish up his career. He would be a big draw and would help Strikeforce a lot. I also agree with Sinister, he needs to and will have to take a pay cut

[Negative2]

With the right promotion I think the UFC can catapult Tito back with a comeback fight. One that he could actually dominate.

I don't believe Ortiz will end up at Affliction. The ship has sailed for Affliction.

Strikeforce. Realistically, there are only 2 or 3 fights there that would interest me with Tito. And after the fight with Babalu and or Frank Shamrock, they would need to recruit some serious ass into Stirkeforce to keep the fire of Ortiz burning or else it will just burn out.

Tito's last 2 fights were against the 2 guys fighting for the title right now. Tito is not done and if he were to fight in the UFC once more against a mid-level guy, I think he would prove it. He has to. Failure cannot be an option for him if he wants his legacy to have a successful finish.

In the reamaining months, it will be interesting to see what takes place. Almost like waiting for a title fight.

[Brad.Taschuk]

Considering Tito has been around so long, he really hasn't taken a lot of punishment, so if he comes back well from this surgery, I still see him having a productive couple of years in him, and getting back to being a top 10 LHW.

I think Strikeforce is the best place for him to make his comeback, but if he does well I'd like to see him back in the UFC before he retires.

[ThatGuyJae]

Originally Posted by Brad.Taschuk

Considering Tito has been around so long, he really hasn't taken a lot of punishment, so if he comes back well from this surgery, I still see him having a productive couple of years in him, and getting back to being a top 10 LHW.

I think Strikeforce is the best place for him to make his comeback, but if he does well I'd like to see him back in the UFC before he retires.

Even though he hasn't taken that much punishment I see him struggling to make it to the top 10 again. He hasn't evolved like so many fighters of his "generation" if you will. Everyone knows what he wants to do TD and GnP from the guard. His standup is the same as its always been (not good) and his sub game is basically just that triangle he threw up against Machida. IMO he just isn't a well rounded fighter and thats what you need to be now a days to be a top 10 fighter. I think if he fougth Forrest and Rashad again he'd lose both fights.

[KJ Brophy]

I agree with the article that Tito should probably sign a 2-3 fight contract for a little less money to prove that he deserves to be paid like a top fighter. I just want to see how he can do with a healthy back.

[FunkYou]

I would rather see Tito - Babalu more than any fight waiting for him in the UFC. However knowing Tito he will go whereve the biggest contract is irrelavent of the opposition.

[Sinister]

Maybe Dana being 'held back' makes Tito a tad bit happier about signing with the UFC.

[KJ Brophy]

When did Dana get held back? Are you talking about the thing that happened recently?