(Hey Tito, do you mind taking a look at this fungus I’ve got growing on my foot? I figured if anyone could spot a bizarre infection, it would be you.)
It’s looking like Tito Ortiz will be getting his wish to go out on a hotly contested decision like he’s always wanted. Though the event or location has yet to be determined, Lorenzo Fertitta announced to the Twittersphere last night that the rubber match between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will in fact be happening, and, just like Ortiz requested, could transpire on Fourth of July weekend.
After saving his Zuffa career by submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz has dropped two straight to Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, both coming by way of TKO. Griffin is also coming off a first round TKO loss, which he suffered in his rematch with fellow former Light Heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua at UFC 134.
Ortiz and Griffin first met way back at UFC 59 in the spring of 2006. At the time, Griffin was on a four fight win streak including his TUF 1 Finale victory over Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz had scored two straight after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 47, and would follow his split decision victory over Griffin by beating the piss out of poor Ken Shamrock twice in a row. Their second meeting, which went down at UFC 106, saw Griffin emerge victorious by an equally controversial split decision.
Speaking of trilogies…
(Hey Tito, do you mind taking a look at this fungus I’ve got growing on my foot? I figured if anyone could spot a bizarre infection, it would be you.)
It’s looking like Tito Ortiz will be getting his wish to go out on a hotly contested decision like he’s always wanted. Though the event or location has yet to be determined, Lorenzo Fertitta announced to the Twittersphere last night that the rubber match between Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will in fact be happening, and, just like Ortiz requested, could transpire on Fourth of July weekend.
After saving his Zuffa career by submitting Ryan Bader at UFC 132, Ortiz has dropped two straight to Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, both coming by way of TKO. Griffin is also coming off a first round TKO loss, which he suffered in his rematch with fellow former Light Heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua at UFC 134.
Ortiz and Griffin first met way back at UFC 59 in the spring of 2006. At the time, Griffin was on a four fight win streak including his TUF 1 Finale victory over Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz had scored two straight after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell at UFC 47, and would follow his split decision victory over Griffin by beating the piss out of poor Ken Shamrock twice in a row. Their second meeting, which went down at UFC 106, saw Griffin emerge victorious by an equally controversial split decision.
Speaking of trilogies…
It looks like Urijah Faber and Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz will be locking horns for a third time this summer, though a date and location is still pending. Faber, who is currently 0-3 in title matches after losing his WEC Featherweight crown to Mike Brown at WEC 36, will be looking to erase the memory of a close but unanimous decision he dropped to Cruz in the pair’s first rematch at UFC 132. A fight apparently so close, that it warranted an immediate rematch. These things happen in MMA. As we know, the two are set to coach opposite one another on the next season of TUF, which will surely have its fair share of stank bref jokes, pranks and blah blah blah cut, print, glass plaque. Moving on.
(MMA Rule #334: Black may not crack, but brown sure as shit does.)
Coming off a brilliant technical submission victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria at UFC 140, a statement that I still have trouble comprehending, it looks like Frank Mir will square off against Cain Velasquez in a battle of former champions, also tentatively scheduled for this summer. Velasquez has been out of action since falling to a first round KO at the hands of Junior Dos Santos, losing his Heavyweight title in the process. Again, no date or venue has been announced. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out; you have to imagine Velasquez will be a little gun shy on the feet, as many fighters are after a KO loss. And despite the fact that he’s never been submitted before, it’s still hard to imagine Velasquez will want to tangle with the likes of Mir on the ground. Then again, Mir has shown a tendency to be overwhelmed by powerful strikers in the past.
Aside from its placement atop nearly every MMA fan’s “Favorite Fights” list, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin‘s war at the first TUF Finale is widely considered to be the fight responsible for popularizing MMA into the near mainstream sport it is today. Well, believe it or not, that fight almost didn’t happen on account of Bonnar’s uncontrollable desire for bottom shelf alcohol, specifically, Mad Dog. Although Bonnar has told this story with a slightly different spin before, Dana White recently discussed the craziness that was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and how Bonnar almost got himself kicked off the show:
The first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was the longest season we’ve ever done. It was something like 8 weeks and those guys were losing their (expletive) minds. I almost kicked (Stephan) Bonnar off the show.
Bonnar turned the shower on, climbed out the window and went to find a liquor store. Remember we took all the liquor out after that big fight? These idiots…we had been driving these guys around for six or seven weeks and the house is in the middle of nowhere. There was no liquor store near there. The guy was walking around for an hour and thirty minutes. So much crazy (expletive) happened that first season. Imagine if I had kicked off him off the show for going to a liquor store? Forrest (Griffin) and Stephan would have never happened.
Aside from its placement atop nearly every MMA fan’s “Favorite Fights” list, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin‘s war at the first TUF Finale is widely considered to be the fight responsible for popularizing MMA into the near mainstream sport it is today. Well, believe it or not, that fight almost didn’t happen on account of Bonnar’s uncontrollable desire for bottom shelf alcohol, specifically, Mad Dog. Although Bonnar has told this story with a slightly different spin before, Dana White recently discussed the craziness that was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and how Bonnar almost got himself kicked off the show:
The first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ was the longest season we’ve ever done. It was something like 8 weeks and those guys were losing their (expletive) minds. I almost kicked (Stephan) Bonnar off the show.
Bonnar turned the shower on, climbed out the window and went to find a liquor store. Remember we took all the liquor out after that big fight? These idiots…we had been driving these guys around for six or seven weeks and the house is in the middle of nowhere. There was no liquor store near there. The guy was walking around for an hour and thirty minutes. So much crazy (expletive) happened that first season. Imagine if I had kicked off him off the show for going to a liquor store? Forrest (Griffin) and Stephan would have never happened.
Speaking of the Crue, does anyone get the feeling that Greg Jackson is Afraid to corner Jon Jones for his upcoming title defense against Team Jackson’s Bastardchild, Rashad Evans? Because he sure seemed on the fence about it when questioned on the issue during an appearance on The Savage Dog Show:
I’m going back and forth now because I have to think about what it means to be on a team. Are we just a collection of friends that train together? For me, it’s much more than that. It means something to be on this team and it means something to have teammates. Rashad kind of left that. I don’t know, I’m leaning toward cornering Jon right now. Just because, am I selfish, am I going to make this about me? Or am I gonna make this about the team? I can’t be self-centered. Even though it’s something that I don’t want to do, it might end up that way.
I still consider him a friend. Right now he’s really angry, and he’s saying a lot of negative things. I don’t want much to do with that, so I’m just kind of keeping my distance, so that’s where we’re at.
It makes no sense for me to rejoin a tournament and fight three guys that people don’t really care to see me fight rather than fight someone a Shinya Aoki, who is ranked in my weight class. I haven’t fought anyone ranked in my weight class in God knows how long. I’d be stupid not to take this fight. He’s ranked top five in my weight class, I believe, and it’ll get me back into the rankings. I’ll be able to forward positively.
Though it’s hard to blame Alvarez for this revelation, I, for one, would rather he fight for the chance of a possible rematch with Michael Chandler, considering how epic their first encounter was. Then again, watching Aoki butt scoot around Bellator’s rather gigantic cage for 15 minutes could prove to be entertaining in its own right.
@nickdiaz209 won that fight in my opinion. He is what every fighter should be a true martial artists who comes to fight. Well prepared and with a gameplan. Not one that [involves] running from a fight. Why come to fight if you gonna run? Hackney was running when we fought and I had to take the fight to him, Shamrock showed up not to lose in our rematch it’s a shame really. I for one am proud of Nick and happy he is part of Grace Jiu-jitsu family.
Well, we can go ahead and discredit anything Gracie says from this day forward, because you would have to be insane to believe that Keith Hackney would run from anybody…ever. He was not running from you, Mr. Gracie, he was simply luring you in using a level of mental warfare that you have not even begun to understand. You think you won that fight, simply because Keith allowed you to put him in an armlock? Please, this man defeated both a serial killer and a killer whale in hand to hand combat, and simply threw the fight for the good of the sport. You should be thanking him.
HDNet only had to use one of six degrees of separation when adding “That 70’s Show” actress Laura Prepon to the Inside MMA guest list this week alongside former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.
An avid MMA fan who is often seen on camera during pay-per-view events, Prepon is rumored to have dated former UFC and Bellator heartthrob Roger Huerta. Moving on.
In the segment above Fo-Griff and Donna take some reader questions about preparing for the apocalypse and who “The Red Dragon” would fight if she had to pick one of her former co-stars.
SPOILER: No, it wasn’t Mila Kunis.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/HDNetFights)
HDNet only had to use one of six degrees of separation when adding “That 70′s Show” actress Laura Prepon to the Inside MMA guest list this week alongside former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.
An avid MMA fan who is often seen on camera during pay-per-view events, Prepon is rumored to have dated former UFC and Bellator heartthrob Roger Huerta. Moving on.
In the segment above Fo-Griff and Donna take some reader questions about preparing for the apocalypse and who “The Red Dragon” would fight if she had to pick one of her former co-stars.
SPOILER: No, it wasn’t Mila Kunis.
Also on the same episode, they caught up with massive mixed martial arts fan Mike Tyson to get his thoughts on the current state of MMA vs. boxing and who his favorite fighter is.
Before his TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz revealed that he has plans of retiring after his fight contract is up. The month of May will mark the 15-year anniversary of Ortiz’s first fight in the UF…
Before his TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz revealed that he has plans of retiring after his fight contract is up.
The month of May will mark the 15-year anniversary of Ortiz’s first fight in the UFC and the “People’s Champ” feels that the time has come to call it a career.
With one fight left on his contract, Ortiz wants his final fight to be a memorable one and called out both Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin, two fighters Ortiz has fought twice before.
Liddell has been retired since 2010 and the chances of UFC President Dana White allowing him to step back into the octagon are slim to none, which makes Griffin the more likely opponent.
Griffin and Ortiz split their first two fights, with Ortiz winning the first at UFC 59 by split decision, and Griffin taking the split decision at UFC 106 in November 2009.
Both fights have been close and a third fight could create a lot of hype for Ortiz’s last fight.
This week, Ortiz took to the press, according to Bloody Elbow, and decided to issue a challenge to the 32-year-old.
“Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!”
Griffin’s last fight was a brutal knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134, in Brazil.
The Ultimate Fighter winner has undoubtedly taken a lot of punishment over the years and it is unknown how much longer fans will see him in the octagon as well.
But a third fight with Ortiz doesn’t seem to be such a bad idea for Griffin,
“He knows better than that. You know what’s funny about me and Tito? The truth is we each consider the other an easy fight. For me, that’s the perfect ‘get right’ fight. Coming back from a bad loss and beating Tito Ortiz up? No problem. For Tito, he’s thinking, ‘Forrest ain’t that good. He’s getting old, prematurely. This is a great way to go out, with a win over Forrest!’ So, I think it’s a beautiful matchup because we both think of the other as an easy fight.”
Although a second win over Ortiz would not catapult Griffin back into the title picture, a third and final fight between these two would help keep Griffin’s name in the spotlight as the “People’s Champ’s” last opponent.
With both fighters likely calling it quits soon, putting on one final, great fight could be a perfect ending to Ortiz’s career, and a perfect start to the end of Griffin’s.
As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:
Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!
Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.
As we all know, inspirational icon Tito Ortiz plans to call it a career after his next fight, or so he has claimed. He has also stated a desire for his final fight to take place on 4th of July weekend, and against either Forrest Griffin or Chuck Liddell. Talk about specific. And while Liddell can’t compete for obvious reasons (specifically, Jackrack commercials), Griffin has already come out in favor of a rubbermatch, and it seems the trilogy’s completion is all but inevitable at this point. On a recent episode of “Inside MMA,” Griffin received a surprise, but pre-recorded (for even more obvious reasons) video call-out from “The People’s Champ,” who all but begged Griffin for another rematch, as if FoGriff was somehow in charge of making those kinds of decisions:
Forrest, you know I deserve it, man. Step up. Let’s do this. It’s an awesome fight for you. I lost my last one. You lost your last one. Let’s do this — unless you’re scared!
Well, not to get technical Tito, but you’ve actually lost your last two, and six of your last eight. Anyway, join us after the jump for Forrest’s response.
(Skip to :30 to see….wait, what is Laura Prepon doing there?)
Other highlights from FoGriff include:
On making the Ortiz fight happen: “Do you wanna know how fights get done now? If enough people get on Twitter, it’ll happen.” [As sad as it is true.]
On his Inside MMA stats: “Now, I’m looking at your ranking, let’s be honest. Speed…I’m a slow son of a bitch. I am so slow.”
On fears: “I’m scared of a lot of things. But, you know, no offense, [Tito’s] not one of them.”
So, is anyone as stoked for this one as Donna Pinciotti, or stoked at all for that matter?
The UFC returns this weekend with a three-fight televised card on FOX Saturday night, and after some last-minute changes, the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions will have new title contenders emerge from the bouts that feature top contenders …
The UFC returns this weekend with a three-fight televised card on FOX Saturday night, and after some last-minute changes, the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions will have new title contenders emerge from the bouts that feature top contenders like Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping.
In the main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will take on undefeated fighter Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis.
Evans is 16-1 in his MMA career while Davis is 9-0 and on a five-fight win streak in the UFC. If Evans wins, he will face former training partner and reigning light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
Also on the card, Michael Bisping will face former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen. The winner of this fight will take on UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The third televised fight will feature Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia going up against wrestling standout Chris Weidman.
The accompanying video contains predictions for this event from some of the UFC’s stars, including Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin and Dan Henderson, among others.
Before his TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz revealed that he has plans of retiring after his fight contract is up.