Leave it to The Schmo to get the story.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, passed on the opportunity to stage the trilogy fight between longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) rivals, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, because senior citizens shouldn’t be fighting inside the Octagon.
Since Dan Henderson was 46 when he fought for the middleweight title at UFC 204, which is two years older than Ortiz when he last competed against “The Iceman,” I have to assume White is referring to Liddell, who got stiffened by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” at the ripe old age of 48.
So with that in mind, it’s no surprise that Liddell’s burial during last November’s inaugural Golden Boy MMA event compelled White to chastise promoter and “cokehead junkie,” Oscar De La Hoya, for … well, just about everything, including fighter pay.
Turns out he was right.
“I think he made a lot of mistakes, but at the same time, for a boxing promoter to come into mixed martial arts, it’s a different animal,” Ortiz said. “Dana was right.”
There was talk of a second event from De La Hoya and Co.; however, fighters began to sour on the dreams being sold once California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) released the fighter purses and official payouts.
Hey, look on the bright side, there’s always Bellator MMA.