Matt Mitrione may be a little conflicted about the type of opponent he’d like to fight next. But he’s not at all conflicted about wanting one particular dream grudge match, even if it’s not a highly realistic probability.
Ortiz fights Ryan Bader on Saturday at UFC 132, and UFC president Dana White said in January that if the former light heavyweight champion loses his next fight, he is likely to be cut from the UFC. Mitrione predicted a win for Bader and a pink slip for Ortiz shortly afterward.
“I say Bader (wins) by sending that giant planet of (Ortiz’s) head straight into the atmosphere,” Mitrione said before launching into a short diatribe at Ortiz. “I’m so glad that d—–bag spent all that money sponsoring Christian Morecraft and then lost again. Just like your pride was lost, the person representing your company lost.
“You’re gonna lose again and get cut from the UFC. If for some reason you don’t get cut from the UFC, I already talked to (Joe) Silva. I would love to fight you. I’ll fight you at a catch weight. I will pull myself back to Ethiopian standards from back in the day and be as thin as possible, and I will punch you in that planet-sized dome of yours and send you packing finally and for good. Mr. Jameson, that was directed toward you.”
Mitrione came under fire from Ortiz for comments he made on his “Mitrione Minute” segment on “The MMA Hour,” and elsewhere, that were critical of Ortiz and his wife, former adult entertainment actress Jenna Jameson. The two exchanged words in a now-famous moment caught on video by Roy Nelson at the UFC’s Fighter Summit in Las Vegas.
Ortiz co-hosted “Inside MMA” on HDNet earlier this month and said Mitrione crossed the line by bringing up his family.
“You don’t talk about another man’s woman,” Ortiz said on the show. “This guy was a d—–bag by saying what he said and then he tried to come up and kiss my butt, shake my hand. I never met the guy. I don’t know who the guy is. … And then he goes on to say he will cut weight to fight me. Come on dude, what fight? … Respect the fighters that paved the way for you to be here. I have been doing this for 14 years.”
Mitrione is a heavyweight who weighed in at 261 pounds for his fight on Sunday; Ortiz fights at light heavyweight. Ortiz has not won a fight since a TKO win over Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Since then, he has four losses and a draw. His UFC 121 loss to Matt Hamill last October was the only won that didn’t come against a champion, former champion or future champion.
Though a fight against Ortiz may be just a daydream scenario right now, Mitrione isn’t certain where he fits in the UFC’s heavyweight landscape. Four of his five UFC wins have come by knockout or TKO, and the fifth was a Fight of the Night performance against Joey Beltran in his home city of Indianapolis last September. But Mitrione believes his win over Morecraft on Sunday was not up to snuff.
“To be totally honest, I think this was probably my worst fight next to (my debut win over) Marcus Jones,” Mitrione said. “I made so many mistakes. I got taken down on a horrible double. I didn’t defend my wall takedowns at all. I’m glad my striking hands are heavy. He ended up brawling with me, which I didn’t expect him to do. His hand positioning threw me off a little bit. I was doing so many different styles of jabs against him, because I was trying to figure out what was going to land against him.”
Mitrione said he believes he still has work to do to improve – and he spent much of his training camp for Morecraft training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and said he plans to return there. But if he were matched up against a veteran, he isn’t sure how he would fare if his performance was on par with how he judged himself Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I want to fight a top guy,” Mitrione said. “I like and respect Frank Mir. He and I are cool, and I think it would be a really fun fight. (But) I made so many mistakes (Sunday). I wonder if anyone else who fights feels the way I do after they fight. If I would have made those mistakes against Cheick Kongo or Frank Mir, I would’ve lost. It makes me wonder what the right step is next. My hands, I can scrap with anybody. Technique wise, ehh …”
But one thing Mitrione said he is sure of, other than wanting that dream fight with Ortiz, is that he puts plenty of pressure on himself to be better each time out.
“The only way to be perfect is to expect it of yourself,” Mitrione said. “I feel like there’s a level of professionalism I owe to the fans, and they should see the best me possible.”
Matt Mitrione may be a little conflicted about the type of opponent he’d like to fight next. But he’s not at all conflicted about wanting one particular dream grudge match, even if it’s not a highly realistic probability.
Ortiz fights Ryan Bader on Saturday at UFC 132, and UFC president Dana White said in January that if the former light heavyweight champion loses his next fight, he is likely to be cut from the UFC. Mitrione predicted a win for Bader and a pink slip for Ortiz shortly afterward.
“I say Bader (wins) by sending that giant planet of (Ortiz’s) head straight into the atmosphere,” Mitrione said before launching into a short diatribe at Ortiz. “I’m so glad that d—–bag spent all that money sponsoring Christian Morecraft and then lost again. Just like your pride was lost, the person representing your company lost.
“You’re gonna lose again and get cut from the UFC. If for some reason you don’t get cut from the UFC, I already talked to (Joe) Silva. I would love to fight you. I’ll fight you at a catch weight. I will pull myself back to Ethiopian standards from back in the day and be as thin as possible, and I will punch you in that planet-sized dome of yours and send you packing finally and for good. Mr. Jameson, that was directed toward you.”
Mitrione came under fire from Ortiz for comments he made on his “Mitrione Minute” segment on “The MMA Hour,” and elsewhere, that were critical of Ortiz and his wife, former adult entertainment actress Jenna Jameson. The two exchanged words in a now-famous moment caught on video by Roy Nelson at the UFC’s Fighter Summit in Las Vegas.
Ortiz co-hosted “Inside MMA” on HDNet earlier this month and said Mitrione crossed the line by bringing up his family.
“You don’t talk about another man’s woman,” Ortiz said on the show. “This guy was a d—–bag by saying what he said and then he tried to come up and kiss my butt, shake my hand. I never met the guy. I don’t know who the guy is. … And then he goes on to say he will cut weight to fight me. Come on dude, what fight? … Respect the fighters that paved the way for you to be here. I have been doing this for 14 years.”
Mitrione is a heavyweight who weighed in at 261 pounds for his fight on Sunday; Ortiz fights at light heavyweight. Ortiz has not won a fight since a TKO win over Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Since then, he has four losses and a draw. His UFC 121 loss to Matt Hamill last October was the only won that didn’t come against a champion, former champion or future champion.
Though a fight against Ortiz may be just a daydream scenario right now, Mitrione isn’t certain where he fits in the UFC’s heavyweight landscape. Four of his five UFC wins have come by knockout or TKO, and the fifth was a Fight of the Night performance against Joey Beltran in his home city of Indianapolis last September. But Mitrione believes his win over Morecraft on Sunday was not up to snuff.
“To be totally honest, I think this was probably my worst fight next to (my debut win over) Marcus Jones,” Mitrione said. “I made so many mistakes. I got taken down on a horrible double. I didn’t defend my wall takedowns at all. I’m glad my striking hands are heavy. He ended up brawling with me, which I didn’t expect him to do. His hand positioning threw me off a little bit. I was doing so many different styles of jabs against him, because I was trying to figure out what was going to land against him.”
Mitrione said he believes he still has work to do to improve – and he spent much of his training camp for Morecraft training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and said he plans to return there. But if he were matched up against a veteran, he isn’t sure how he would fare if his performance was on par with how he judged himself Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I want to fight a top guy,” Mitrione said. “I like and respect Frank Mir. He and I are cool, and I think it would be a really fun fight. (But) I made so many mistakes (Sunday). I wonder if anyone else who fights feels the way I do after they fight. If I would have made those mistakes against Cheick Kongo or Frank Mir, I would’ve lost. It makes me wonder what the right step is next. My hands, I can scrap with anybody. Technique wise, ehh …”
But one thing Mitrione said he is sure of, other than wanting that dream fight with Ortiz, is that he puts plenty of pressure on himself to be better each time out.
“The only way to be perfect is to expect it of yourself,” Mitrione said. “I feel like there’s a level of professionalism I owe to the fans, and they should see the best me possible.”
BJ Penn Shows Nate Marquardt No Love, Bashes All PED UsersBleacher Report’s Andrew Barr:Nate Marquardt was forced to withdraw from his main event bout with Rick Story this past Sunday.Today it was revealed that the reason Nate had to be scratched from…
BJ Penn Shows Nate Marquardt No Love, Bashes All PED Users
Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr:
Nate Marquardt was forced to withdraw from his main event bout with Rick Story this past Sunday.
Today it was revealed that the reason Nate had to be scratched from the card because he had been undergoing testosterone replacement therapy and was unable to get his testosterone levels down in time for the fight.
This isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened; Chael Sonnen found himself in a similar situation in 2010 when he fought Anderson Silva. Sonnen was undergoing the same therapy before his title fight and was later suspended due to his failure to inform the Athletic Commission on the matter.
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn took to Twitter earlier today to voice his thoughts fighters using low testosterone levels as a reason for taking PEDs. According to fightofthenight.com, Penn did not mince words when addressing the issue: his stance is very clear.
UFC 132: The Man Dana White Calls “Worst Referee Ever” Will Officiate Main EventBleacher Report’s Andrew Barr:The referees for UFC 132, set to take place in the MGM Grand Garden Area in Las Vegas, have been announced.According to MMAjunkie.com, referee…
UFC 132: The Man Dana White Calls “Worst Referee Ever” Will Officiate Main Event
Bleacher Report’s Andrew Barr:
The referees for UFC 132, set to take place in the MGM Grand Garden Area in Las Vegas, have been announced.
According to MMAjunkie.com, referee Steve Mazzagatti will be overseeing the main event.
This news comes much to the chagrin of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, who has openly chastised Mazzagatti in the past (see his comments here).
If the UFC had their way, Steve would never call a fight, but it is not up to them. It’s up to the athletic commission of the state the event is being held in and the Nevada State Athletic Commission has made their decisions.
Other available judges for the event were Herb Dean, Yves Lavigne, Mario Yamasaki, Tony Weeks, Jeff Collins, Lester Griffin and Marcos Rosales.
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Tuesday June 28:Nate Marquardt talks UFC on Versus 4, testosterone therapy and UFC release.”Worst referee ever,” will work UFC 132 main event.Nik Lentz’ eye socket broken by illegal knee at UFC on Versus 4.Tito Orti…
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Tuesday June 28:
Nate Marquardt talks UFC on Versus 4, testosterone therapy and UFC release.
“Worst referee ever,” will work UFC 132 main event.
Nik Lentz’ eye socket broken by illegal knee at UFC on Versus 4.
Tito Ortiz talks Ryan Bader fight.
Brendan Schaub confident he can one day hold UFC title.
We all know it by now; Tito Ortiz will be fighting for his job at UFC 132.Tito has not won a fight since 2006 and has admitted that he had to beg UFC President Dana White for one last chance to prove that he has what it takes to compete in MMA’s most p…
We all know it by now; Tito Ortiz will be fighting for his job at UFC 132.
Tito has not won a fight since 2006 and has admitted that he had to beg UFC President Dana White for one last chance to prove that he has what it takes to compete in MMA‘s most prominent organization.
Everybody has been talking about how badly Ortiz needs this win, and he does need it, but why Ryan Bader?
If you ignore the fact Tito is fighting for his job, there is a lot more pressure on Bader in this fight than there is Ortiz.
People think Tito is way passed his prime and are expecting him to lose. This is partially true, but people forget that while Tito has not been winning, his fights have still been competitive.
Let’s look at his last three fights.
Tito lost a unanimous decision to Lyoto Machida. In his next two fights, Machida would go on to knock out Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva. Both of those fighters are still relevant today, and Tito did better against Lyoto than they did.
Next, Ortiz lost a split decision to Forrest Griffin. After that Griffin beat Rich Franklin by unanimous decision, but no one was calling for Rich to retire.
After that, Tito lost another unanimous decision to Matt Hamill. This loss was uglier for Ortiz and did show that his skills are declining.
Tito may be nearing the end but he can still put up a good fight, and not many people are acknowledging that.
This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Bader; nobody wants to be the guy who loses to the guy hasn’t won in five years.
Ryan is already coming off a very decisive loss to Jon Jones, and so a loss to Ortiz would be nothing short of devastating.
Bader certain has the tools to defeat Tito, that much is certain. As a fighter, Ryan could be called a more dangerous Matt Hamill.
If Bader trains hard and does not underestimate Ortiz, then he can win the fight. That said, he better make sure he is doing those things because a loss for him would knock him out of the division’s top 10 and put him miles away from a title shot.
According to Tito Ortiz, he is the last person any fighter should take lightly. However, due to his recent string of bouts, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is far from the competitor he used to be.At UFC 132, Ortiz will face Ryan Bader, in what will lik…
According to Tito Ortiz, he is the last person any fighter should take lightly. However, due to his recent string of bouts, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is far from the competitor he used to be.
At UFC 132, Ortiz will face Ryan Bader, in what will likely be his last appearance in the Octagon if he does not walk away with a win. It’s a fight he is obviously taking serious, as Ortiz recently admitted to begging for one more match, and luckily, it will be against one the light heavyweight division’s top wrestlers.
Once a dominant champion, Ortiz will be looking for his first win since 2006. And he plans to deliver a vintage performance.
The 35-year-old Ortiz has gone 0-6-1, loosing to credible opponents along the way in Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and Matt Hamill. The list of opponents might look appealing but it does nothing for Ortiz’s legacy, in regards to scoring a victory.
Bader, who also has tasted defeat, recently stated he intends to beat Ortiz this weekend, believing a victory over the former light heavyweight champion will earn him one step closer to a title shot.
Ortiz, offended by his opponent’s remarks, responded in typical fashion.
“He can go f*** himself if he thinks that’s the way it’s going to be,” he said.
UFC 132 is scheduled for July 2, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Matt Mitrione may be a little conflicted about the type of opponent he’d like to fight next. But he’s not at all conflicted about wanting one particular dream grudge match, even if it’s not a highly realistic probability.
Bleacher Report’s MMA news recap for Tuesday June 28: