Joe Rogan believes Tito Ortiz is actually motivated by his desire to fight Chuck Liddell, and not by the potential earnings afterward.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the third fight between UFC Hall-of-Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will be happening. It is a fight that may be eight years too late, but has still fancied the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, who will be promoting the said fight under his new venture, Golden Boy MMA.
While it has not been disclosed, it is already expected for both retired legends to earn a decent payday for this comeback fight, which includes a ‘big’ revenue split. This is what UFC analyst Joe Rogan has a bit of a problem with, as he questions the motivation for both Liddell and Ortiz to return at their age.
“If they wanted to compete, if it’s because they wanted to compete, I wonder where it makes sense to tell them they can’t or they shouldn’t?” Rogan told Brendan Schaub on a recent episode of the JRE MMA Show. “Because if they want to do it and they had money – what is it about it? Is it the motivation that bothers me? What is it about a fight like that? I think it’s the motivation that bothers me, a little bit.”
Ortiz, now 43 years of age, last competed in January 2017, with a win over Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170. He has remained active, unlike the 48-year-old Liddell, who has been out of action since 2010, when he was knocked into retirement by Rich Franklin.
Rogan believes Ortiz was actually able to retire with financial stability, and that he accepted this matchup for the actual fight.
“I think Tito did better financially,” Rogan said. “He did really well in Bellator. He might actually want this fight just to fight Chuck again.”
“He’s been fighting and doing well over the last few years,” he added. “He’s still a formidable guy. He’s a beast.”
As of this posting, the date and venue for Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 has yet to be made final.