MMA SQUARED: Cracked skull and all, Tito Ortiz is back

MMA Squared tackles Tito Ortiz’s return.

If you are unfamiliar with the “cracked skull” quote, here you go.

Tito Ortiz made his UFC debut more than twenty years ago, and became one of the biggest stars of the promotion, helping to bridge the gap between the “dark ages” into the TUF boom years. His last six years of his UFC career were spent as a punchline, going 1-7-1 with the lone win a shocking upset of current Bellator champ champ, Ryan Bader who himself was then cursed with Tito’s bad mojo.

Upon leaving the UFC a curious thing happened: Tito Ortiz had a resurgence. Capitalizing on his name value and a rebrand as “The People’s Champ,” Ortiz signed with Bellator and put together a respectable 3-1 record, beating equally old or smaller opponents and losing to Bellator’s homegrown talent, Liam McGeary, and giving him some shine in the process.

Now he is back with Combate, scheduled to fight Alberto Del Rio, a former WWE champ. Somehow Chad Mendes is saying farewell to the sport, Dana White is suggesting that Luke Rockhold should retire and Holly Holm should have a serious conversation about the future with him. But Tito… Tito is forever.

While Ortiz cannot properly speak on the mic, he will never let that stop him from promoting a fight.