If he were to have a third fight against Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz prefers for it to be outside the UFC.
Early this month, rumblings about a possible third fight between retired UFC Hall-of-Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz began to resurface. More interestingly, it was reported to be backed up by long-time boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who apparently intends to start his own MMA promotion company.
Liddell himself recently confirmed his intent to come out of retirement at 48 years of age and had actually engaged in a brief Twitter tirade with shelved former champion Jon Jones. But from Ortiz’s end, their third fight should be the one to take place, since he believes it is a fight that fans are clamoring to see.
If the fight is brought back to the table, the 43-year-old Ortiz prefers for it to take place outside of the UFC.
“Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell III, the fight that all the fans wanted to see for the longest time and never got a chance to,” Ortiz told TMZ Sports (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I never got a fair shake when I was with the UFC against Chuck, any of the times I ever fought against him.”
“Let’s do it under a different promotion. Let’s do it under Golden Boy Promotion. (Oscar De La Hoya) has a great background in promoting fights, some of the biggest fights in the world, and he bit on it, hook, line, and sinker. He’s in. Let’s see if we can make some history here.”
Liddell gave a target date for his return, penciling in November in either California or Las Vegas. Ortiz, is fine with the said date, as he expects major promotional efforts for the fight.
“I’m not exactly at the point where I can say where but when, October or November. That way we have some time to promote,” Ortiz said. “We’ll do a world tour – kind of go around to talk smack to build up the fight.”
For Ortiz, making a return to professional competition at their age is not at all a cause for concern, as he expects a massive incentive out of it, no matter what happens.
“Look at the history books. Randy Couture at the age of 43 won the heavyweight world title at the age of 43. I feel healthy,” Ortiz said. “I have a great surgeon that put me together.”
“I’m the million-dollar man so let’s make a couple more million kicking Chuck Liddell’s ass. It’s gonna build. It’s gonna be the hugest fight in MMA history, just watch and see.”
Liddell retired in 2010, after being knocked out in the first round by Rich Franklin at UFC 115. Ortiz, on the other hand, called it quits in January 2017, ending his career with a first-round submission win over Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170.