UFC light heavyweight fighter Tito Ortiz is looking at returning to the ring in October or November of this year, according to a recent interview with Sherdog.com. The popular and yet strangely unpopular fighter has been fighting series back injuries and is coming off another surgery to repair damage done to disks. While it will be a short time before he can train completely, it seems that Ortiz has everything planned for his return to training:
“I get a little tingling sensation down my arms and the back of my neck but I guess that’s normal because of all the nerves are reconnecting,” he said. “I feel really good, though. The soreness I have now is from lifting weights. I haven’t had this kind of soreness in a while. July will really be the test for me because I’ll be wrestling and stuff and starting to get into it. On July 1, I’ll start doing jiu-jitsu and start drilling. Nothing live — just drilling to get my body back into shape.”
Many MMA fans have questions about whether Ortiz will ever be able to compete at the highest level again, but there’s no doubt that he can still sell tickets. The UFC certainly could put on another Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell match which would no doubt produce good to great pay per view numbers but it seems premature to speculate. For now Ortiz continues to look to the future to return to the Octagon, healthy and ready to make a run at the light heavyweight title.