Injury prone and over the hill, Bellator’s new signing Tito Ortiz nevertheless expects full recovery from his latest training setback, promising to return to the gym in six weeks.
That won’t be soon enough to save the promotion’s first pay-per-view event, originally scheduled for this Saturday, which would have seen Ortiz face off against fellow UFC veteran Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the pair’s first outing for Bellator.
Instead, Bellator 106 is now a free-to-watch event, airing on Spike TV and headlined by a lightweight clash between champion Michael Chandler and challenger Eddie Alvarez.
As Ortiz explained on Twitter:
Ppl I will have 100% recovery & will be back n the gym in 6 weeks.I’m a fighter & I love competition. I was doing great n training but accident do happen. Just time to reshuffle the deck & deal another hand.
Ortiz joined the UFC in 1997 and eventually announced his retirement in 2012 after posting a 1-6 record in his last seven fights. The 38-year-old was snapped up by rival promotion Bellator this year.
Together with Rampage, his fellow UFC exile, Ortiz was gearing up to launch Bellator’s first PPV event until a recurring neck injury forced him off the card.
It was a similar neck injury that forced him to withdraw from a rematch against Chuck Liddell in 2010, and many would question the wisdom in having the veteran front another major MMA event.
Rampage, meanwhile, has signed on to face another ex-UFC fighter in Joey Beltran at Bellator 108, due to go down on Nov. 15.
It’s unclear at this stage whether Ortiz will return to face Rampage after all.
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