Tag: Tito Ortiz

UFC 140: Tito Ortiz Reveals He Is Two Fights Away from Retirement

Back in July, before UFC 132, the “People’s Champ,” Tito Ortiz, was going into what could have been the final fight of his career against heavy-handed Ryan Bader. Ortiz had gone 0-4-1 in his last five fights and had not won a fight since he d…

Back in July, before UFC 132, the “People’s Champ,” Tito Ortiz, was going into what could have been the final fight of his career against heavy-handed Ryan Bader.

Ortiz had gone 0-4-1 in his last five fights and had not won a fight since he defeated Ken Shamrock back in 2006.

It was clear that Ortiz was past his prime, and it looked as if he would be forced to retire if he could not defeat Bader.

The former light heavyweight champion shocked the world with an upset victory over Bader that brought his career back from the dead.

It wouldn’t be long before Ortiz fought again, as he stepped in for an injured Phil Davis to face Rashad Evans.

Although Ortiz would go on to lose that fight, he looked good against Evans and almost pulled off another upset.

Ortiz has shown not only UFC president Dana White, but also the rest of the world that he will keep fighting with his back against the wall and will go out on his own terms.

Going into this weekend’s fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ortiz has revealed to ESPN.com that he will fight two more times in the UFC, before he hangs up his gloves for good.

“Maybe it’s time. I don’t know,” Ortiz said. “I guess when I leave on my own terms—and I look at it as, when I don’t have fun coming in the gym anymore, sparring and pushing myself and running every day, maybe it is time. I’m not overstaying my welcome.

“My goal in my whole career was to do 15 years in MMA. May 30 will be my 15th year of fighting in the UFC and in MMA, in general. This’ll be fight No. 26 for me, I think. So I’ll have 27 and walk away. I think I’ve done good.”

Ortiz went on to say that he may continue his career if he can stay healthy, as well as agree with the UFC on the proper finances.

The 36-year-old has had several surgeries over his long career and stated that he did not want to jeopardize his future with his children to continue fighting.

“Is it worth it not being able to run with my kids or wrestle with my kids or throw a football with my kids when they get older? A million dollars ain’t worth it.”

Regardless of how many fights he has left in him, there is a guaranteed spot in the UFC Hall of Fame for Tito Ortiz.

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UFC 140 Fight Card: Tito Ortiz Is Still a Title Contender

While UFC 132 had one of the best title fights of the year on the card, the event will likely end up being remembered as the night that Tito Ortiz saved his UFC career. Going into the bout with Ryan Bader, it seemed like the media was busy writing Tito…

While UFC 132 had one of the best title fights of the year on the card, the event will likely end up being remembered as the night that Tito Ortiz saved his UFC career.

Going into the bout with Ryan Bader, it seemed like the media was busy writing Tito’s farewell piece. However, Ortiz showed us he still had plenty of gas in the tank and rocked Bader on the feet before securing a fight-ending submission.

While Ortiz ended up losing to Rashad Evans a month later in a fight that he took on extremely short notice, he actually looked good then as well. What’s more, he almost locked-in a fight-ending submission before being finished with a hard knee to the body and some follow up punches.

What this all points to is obvious, yet it seems to be all but forgotten by many MMA fans.

Tito Ortiz still has some fight in him.

Before this year, Tito took a lot of criticism because he had held a UFC roster spot despite going just 0-3-1 since 2007. A lot of fans thought he was only around due to his name recognition.

However, unlike guys like Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman—who took a ton of damage during their losing streaks and were being repeatedly knocked out—Ortiz was staying competitive in nearly all of his fights and mostly looked like he was just losing tough decisions.

This weekend, Ortiz will attempt to keep his momentum going when he takes on Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 in a fight that can easily make or break the rest of his career.

While a loss will hurt Tito in the short term, he has shown that he can still hang with the elite in the division and could easily work his way back into title contention in 2012.

On the other hand, a win would push Tito into the upper echelon of the division and he could soon be fighting the Forrest Griffin’s and Rampage Jackson’s of the world. He could be inching closer to one last title fight.

No matter what happens this weekend, it has become clear that Tito is still a top light heavyweight in the UFC and his time in the sport is far from over.

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UFC on Fox 2: Is Phil Davis Ready for the Big Leagues?

Phil Davis is the perfect example of an up and coming fighter and future super star. He is a decorated collegiate wrestler with an undefeated professional MMA record, and at 27 years old, he is in the prime of his life.”Mr. Wonderful” has defeated all …

Phil Davis is the perfect example of an up and coming fighter and future super star. He is a decorated collegiate wrestler with an undefeated professional MMA record, and at 27 years old, he is in the prime of his life.

“Mr. Wonderful” has defeated all five of his opponents the UFC has thrown at him to include fan favorite Brian Stann, Pride legend Antônio Rogério Nogueira, and even fellow up and comer and possible future title contender Alexander Gustafsson.

With all that said, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he is deserving of a shot at Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28, 2012, especially since in many ways his path to the tile is not so different than the one Evans originally took.

Rewind to Sep. 6th, 2008 to UFC 88 and you will see a 28 year old undefeated Rashad Evans taking on a former light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in a title-eliminator bout.

Like Davis, Rashad had faced off against a legend in the form of Tito Ortiz, a fellow up and comer in Michael Bisping and a fan favorite named Stephan Bonnar.

Unlike Davis however, Rashad’s path took more fights, as his fight with Ortiz was ruled a draw. Also unlike Davis, Rashad was headlining PPV fights even before his bout with Liddell, but as the winner of Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, this was expected.

The question should not be if Phil Davis is ready for the big leagues, because anyone would be hard pressed to find an up and coming fighter more ready than him.

The real question is if his path to the title will become even more like Rashad’s, in that he will walk away with a KO victory and go on to claim the title in similar fashion.

For Rashad’s sake, let’s hope not. But if your name is Phil Davis, then Rashad is the perfect opponent to defeat and prove to the world why you belong in the big leagues.

And that’s the bottom line.

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UFC 140 Predictions

Main Card Predictions Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs Lyoto Machida Love both these guys. The patience of Machida will probably give Jon Jones a little bit of trouble for the first round. However, I don’t think there is much that Machida can do against the elusive Jones. The best chance Machida has

Main Card Predictions

Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs Lyoto Machida

Love both these guys. The patience of Machida will probably give Jon Jones a little bit of trouble for the first round. However, I don’t think there is much that Machida can do against the elusive Jones. The best chance Machida has at winning this fight is being Jon Jones Guard and landing long punches. I hope the odds are too far apart on this one. I like Jon Jones winning this one pretty much no matter what. If the odds are like -600 though, I might take Machida.

Heavyweight bout: Frank Mir vs Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

A rematch that Mir won the first time. I think this back to being a toss up again as Nogueira was sick with the flu last time they fought. If the odds are ridiculously skewed in favor of Mir, I like Nogueira to win. Otherwise if its close go with Mir.

Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs Antônio Rogério Nogueira

Tito ain’t KOing Nogueira on the feet so imo that will give Nogueira time to work his championship level boxing. Ortiz’ best shot at winning this is obviously one way. The double leg > GnP. However, he is going against a Nogueira. So in that position you have to worry about being armbarred. The two brothers have some of the best armbars in the game. Nogueira’s boxing is much much better than Tito’s. I like Nogueira winning this, but I’ve been finding myself rooting for Tito in his last few fights. Maybe its the nostalgic fan in me. I used to dislike Tito all those years he fought before his stint on the TUF show, before he came back for the first Ken Shamrock fight, but these days I’m a fan. I think Nogueira has the right skillset to give Ortiz problems. I see little Nog taking a decision. Cardio could be Ortiz ace in the hole in this one though.

Welterweight bout: Claude Patrick vs Brian Ebersole

Ebersole. There are only a few people in the division that can beat him right now.

Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs Chan Sung Jung

Awesome fight potential, but I lean towards Hominick here. Sung Jung is wild and Hominick is crisp and tight. Big advantage for Hominick.

Preliminary card (Ion Television)

Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs Igor Pokrajac

Soszynski will likely win being bigger and better on the ground. I like the way Igor fights though.

Middleweight bout: Jared Hamman vs Constantinos Philippou

Hamman is the guy that presses and he doesn’t look like hes tough or a fighter, but hes got skills. I expect him to win then sell you a computer when its over.

Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs Dennis Hallman

One thing you can count on here is that Hallman won’t be wearing a mankini. Only prediction to be made here.

Bantamweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs Walel Watson

Preliminary card

Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs Nik Lentz

I want to see this fight. Bocek has been a monster lately, but Nik Lentz is always fun to watch and has some good skills. On the ground though Bocek has distinct advantage.

Welterweight bout: Rich Attonito vs Jake Hecht

Lightweight bout: Mitch Clarke vs John Cholish

Tito Ortiz Is "Healthy" and "Excited" to Perform for Canadian Fans at UFC 140

Tito Ortiz has endured an interesting year so far. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” earned his first win in six years against Ryan Bader at UFC 132, before dropping a bout to Rashad Evans three weeks later at UFC 133. Ortiz will now look to finish o…

Tito Ortiz has endured an interesting year so far. 

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” earned his first win in six years against Ryan Bader at UFC 132, before dropping a bout to Rashad Evans three weeks later at UFC 133. Ortiz will now look to finish off his year with a victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira next weekend when the two light heavyweights meet at UFC 140. 

While participating in a UFC 140 media conference call, Ortiz spoke about his upcoming bout with the Brazilian and he didn’t have any complaints regarding any nagging injuries or health issues. Ortiz appeared to be in a good spirits and is happy to be apart of the second event hosted in Toronto.

“I’m very excited to fight in front of the Canadian fans and put on my skills and get my hands raised,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz will make his 26th appearance inside the Octagon next weekend and he feels like he can still compete and remain relevant in one of the deepest divisions in the sport.

At 36-years-old, however, Ortiz’s best days appear to be behind him but that won’t prevent him from entertaining fans and putting on a good performance. Ortiz’s recurring injuries have certainly slowed down his mobility and prevented him from being consistent at 205 pounds. 

In preparation for his bout against Nogueira, Ortiz spoke highly of his training camp and credits his training partners and doctor’s for helping him remaining active at this stage of his career. 

“Being healthy is great. Being able to battle and train like I used to train when I didn’t have any injuries,” he said. “My wrestling is snapping now and it’s easier to get the single, double legs and body locks that put my neck in jeopardy. I’ve been in this game almost 15 years now and my body has taken some damage.”

UFC 140 is scheduled for December 10, live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Mike Hodges is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise stated, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

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Tito Ortiz Considers Himself "The People’s Champion"

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (16-9) will look to rebound from his most recent defeat versus Rashad Evans when he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira later this month at UFC 140. But he won’t be doing it as the “The Huntington Beach Bad B…

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (16-9) will look to rebound from his most recent defeat versus Rashad Evans when he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira later this month at UFC 140. But he won’t be doing it as the “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” according to an interview with MMAWeekly.com.

“No longer the bad boy, positive from here on out,” Ortiz told MMAWeekly Radio. “I’m now the ‘People’s Champ.'”

Once seen as one of the best trash-talkers and “bad boys” in the sport, Ortiz now wants to be considered a man who fights for something greater and more positive than that.

“I just want to change my whole outlook on life. Being the bad boy, talking smack to sell fights, I no longer need to do that,” said Ortiz. “I’ve got three boys who are growing up and I want to make sure I’m known as someone who has given back to MMA and been a positive role model to a lot of people’s
lives.”

Ortiz’s perspective on being a positive role model reflects where he is at in his career. It wasn’t too long ago that he was considered one fight away from being retired, and now he sits in the position of only having won one of his last seven fights. It’s his positive outlook that keeps him going in a sport that is continuously evolving.

Ortiz fights for the fans, but it’s more clear now than ever before going into his Dec. 10 bout with Nogueira.

“Being the ‘People’s Champ,’ the only other person I can think of who’s done the great things in their sport was Muhammad Ali,” Ortiz continued. “If I could walk in one of those footsteps, then I’ve done my job as a fighter and a mixed martial artist.”

Ortiz’s lone victory since 2007 came against Ryan Bader in a matchup from earlier this year. He submitted the Ultimate Fighter winner in the first round. His losses include those versus Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Lyoto Machida and Chuck Liddell.

“I believe so, it’s time to grow up, it’s time to mature as a man, as a father,” Ortiz said. “I’ve done a lot in this sport. I know my road’s coming up short here where it’s really time to think about the future. I’ve been competing for almost 15 years; I think the longest UFC fighter in history, competing more than anybody else and for the longest record non-stop fighting in the UFC. I never fought anywhere else. No amateur status, nowhere else besides the UFC, that’s all I’ve fought and I just want to keep that positive attitude.”

UFC 140 will be available on pay-per-view and will feature a five-fight main card, including bouts between current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mark Hominick and Chan Sung Jung. Brian Ebersole will also be featured in a welterweight matchup against Claude Patrick.

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