Former UFC champion Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) is returning to the octagon once again since his recovery from two major back surgeries. On Saturday, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is set to face Matt Hamill on the televised pay-per-view card of the UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez event.
Ortiz spoke to UFC.com about his long recovery, as well as his hopes for the future, expressing his hope to keep competing by completing his five fight contract with the UFC.
“It’s been a rebuilding process for me the last two years. Coming off two major surgeries, it was a very scary point in my life and my career, and now that I’m healed, the sky’s the limit now. I’m able to train and wrestle and do all the things that I couldn’t do before. When you’re only putting in three days a week due to injuries, it’s hard to do. But now I’m able to put in five, six days a week of training. I still have a lot of work to do rebuilding, but I’ve still got five fights left on my contract and in each one I’ll get better and better. After the surgeries I’ve gotten done, some athletes never compete after that; and I’m here to prove a lot of people wrong and prove that you’re able to do things like this after surgery as long as you keep your nose to the grindstone and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
“I love the sport. And I love everything I’ve been given to this point from my fans, from Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, and Dana White. Over the last five years we’ve had our battles back and forth, but in the long run, I was here at the very beginning, I was here when there was nobody else. They put everything on my shoulders to help carry this company, and I did my part. And I see now that we’re mainstream; we’re what I’ve always dreamed this sport to be. But I just think I have so much more fight in my heart, being 35 years old, and I think I have a lot more competition left in me. Being at a hundred percent and able to compete at this level is something that I know I can do.”
Read the rest of the article as Ortiz offers comments on his upcoming opponent, Hamill, and past opponent Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell at UFC.com.