Filed under: UFC
It’s pretty easy to be eclipsed by Brock Lesnar’s celebrity and drawing power. Such is the magnetic force of the UFC heavyweight champion that aside from his fight with No. 1 contender Cain Velasquez, not much else on the UFC 121 card, which takes place this Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, is receiving much attention.
If you’re not an MMA fanatic, you might find yourself surprised to discover that along for the ride on UFC 121 is former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who is facing Matt Hamill in one of the night’s featured bouts.
Yet in some ways, “featured” is not the appropriate word. Without question, Ortiz’s bout is generating the least attention of any fight he’s participated in since 2005, or roughly since the company shot itself into the mainstream sports conscious with its launching of The Ultimate Fighter franchise.
Even in the fanatical MMA community, where Ortiz has been an A-list star and needle-mover for a decade, interest is muted, an interesting development given the fact Ortiz could be facing a must-win situation to stay employed.