Let's talk about Tito Ortiz

[Impact!]

Should he stay or should he go?

Tito Ortiz says he will answer that question by June, when his non-compete renegotiation period with Zuffa LLC., the owners for the UFC, expires.

Until then, the former light heavyweight champion announced his participation as a color commentator for Jan. 24’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” broadcast, a job that won’t require him to strap on his gloves and climb back into the ring.

Ortiz, 33, can afford a little rest. He underwent spinal fusion surgery on his back in October and anticipates a 6-8 month recovery period before he can begin the next phase of his career with either the UFC or a new organization. Ortiz says he’s had back problems since his contest with Randy Couture in 2003.

“As far as my fight career, it’s kind of on hold till I get 100 percent,” Ortiz told Sherdog.com. “Will it be with the UFC? Will it be with Affliction? Only time will tell. Right now it’s all about commentating. I’ve always wanted to do it [commentate], but the UFC always put the chopping block on it.”

Ortiz’s tumultuous relationship with the UFC, particularly with its president and the fighter’s former manager Dana White, has been the fodder for countless articles.

In 2007, Spike TV broadcasted a 90-minute special documenting the strained relationship called “Bad Blood,” which focused on Ortiz’s request to meet White in a boxing match as part of his re-signing with the organization. The episode ended with White jilted at the scales, though Ortiz says he’d told his employer ahead of time that he wouldn’t appear until the financials of the taped event had been finalized.

So embroiled had the pair become, that White chided and ridiculed Ortiz in public every chance he got. Ortiz even went as far to announce he’d never return to the Octagon prior to his final contracted bout against Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 last May.


Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com


Ortiz knows as well as anyone
that business is business.But money is money, and the polarizing Ortiz (15-6-1) is the very best at bringing it in for the promotion. His December 2006 tilt against Chuck Liddell remains the highest grossing pay-per-view in the sport’s history with a reported $1,000,080 buys.

Ortiz -- who made his debut at UFC 13 in 1997 -- said recent talks have been less than promising though.

“I got the first negotiation of what they offered me, and I was still looking at the same [figure] that I had left from,” said Ortiz. “Dana had his personal agenda against me of not promoting me and it’s fine. I’m going to continue to excel. You can only hold a good man down for so long.”

Outside the Octagon, Ortiz has some time to play the field. Though he says he was days away from signing an “awesome contract that a lot of fighters would have been thankful [for]” with Pro Elite before the promotion abruptly closed it doors in late October, he sees a few glimmers on the horizon.

CBS has plans to move forward with another yet-to-be-named promotion on broadcast television in 2009, while Affliction had plans for at least three more shows during the year following its Jan. 24 event.

So in your opinion what should Tito Ortiz do/What do you think he should do/Tito Ortiz in general?

I'm bored and want some actual MMA discussion :y:

[Rob]

For a start, Tito Ortiz doesn't have a no compete clause. No UFC fighters have. His deal finished after his last fight and then Zuffa had 30 days to match any competition offer on his contract. That has long gone.

I'd bet my balls on Ortiz being back in the UFC in June. Everyone in the UFC knows it's gonna happened. They are running too many shows and don't have enough star power. Simple math. They tried to get him back to fight Houston Alexander on the London show but he went in for his surgery (which was being debated if it was even legit) so he can't fight until June. Affliction are gonna be finished by the middle of next year anyway.

[Impact!]

I'm hoping Tito does indeed go back to UFC, though I wouldn't be opposed to him doing one or two fights outside of it first (I'd actually like to see rematches with Vitor Belfort and Frank Shamrock). Either way, Tito's pickings are slowly dwindling away to nothing right now...

[Rob]

Belfort won't fight Ortiz again. Especially when Ortiz is a giant at 205lbs and Belfort is fighting at 185lbs now. Frank Shamrock would do that fight if Ortiz weighed 300lbs though. Problem is that the fight has no interest on PPV without TV and they don't have TV to build it. Can't be on free TV since they would never be able to get the purse money.

[Impact!]

This is true...Though I can easily see Affliction attempting to set up the Shamrock V Ortiz rematch (Though somehow someone would come up with the idea for Ken Shamrock V Tito Ortiz 4)

[Stickman]

I've only been watching the UFC for about 2 years or so, but I don't see what is so fantastic about the guy. Somebody post videos of his best fights (please, no Ken Shamrock fights) so I can see what is great about this guy.

[Reavant]

i saw the title of this thread and could only think....... why?

[Impact!]

http://www.mmalinker.com/fighter/Tito%20Ortiz

Just click this link Stickman, his fights against Frank Shamrock, Wanderlei Silva, Guy Mezger, Forrest Griffin and Ken Shamrock ( :shifty: ) are all pretty good examples.

[Impact!]

i saw the title of this thread and could only think....... why?

Dunno, to get some actual MMA discussion since we have an MMA forum? :p

[Reavant]

then maybe we should talk about someone who is actually fighting

[Rob]

I've only been watching the UFC for about 2 years or so, but I don't see what is so fantastic about the guy. Somebody post videos of his best fights (please, no Ken Shamrock fights) so I can see what is great about this guy.

The guy is money. That is what is so good about him. Plus he is still quite young and has room for improvement. Injuries have fucked him a little bit in the last couple of years but you have two guys fighting for a world title in 6 days who Ortiz was super competitive against. He beat the current champ (and would have completely smashed him had he not had a torn ACL) and he would have handed Rashad Evans his first loss had the referee in that fight not punished him for holding the cage without warning.

Personally I wouldn't care if he sucked. If you are a money fighter, you are needed.

[Stickman]

Alright, watched some of his fights....kinda boring.

[Rob]

Aside from the Machida fight, I can't say I've seen a boring Ortiz fight. Not like they are fight of the year stuff or anything but the excitement is always there. He brings an X factor that nobody else does.

[Reavant]

what lay and pray?

[Stickman]

Rob, I'm not disagreeing with you with the "X" factor. Tito is the perfect heel and he's marketable. But he's not an exciting fighter. I actually found the Machida fight entertaining. Not fantastic by anymeans, and if it went 5 rounds I would have lost interest. But watching Tito get frustrated was fantastic and when he had the triangle I was excited. But really, how exciting is watching him sit in somebody's guard all fight.

[Rob]

When exactly has he sat in someone's guard all fight?

[Reavant]

seriously tho... the only real entertaining fights he has had have been the ones he has lost.

[Impact!]

I definetly disagree with you there

[Rob]

seriously tho... the only real entertaining fights he has had have been the ones he has lost.

Forrest Griffin? Vitor Belfort?

[RP]

Well first i'd dump that bent up old cum bucket he's walking around with in his arm.

[RP]

Then i'd go fuck a pussy thats not the size of my underwear.

[Reavant]

Forrest Griffin? Vitor Belfort?

they werent bad but they were no where near as entertaining as both his fights with liddel, randy couture, and even frank shamrock. Thats not because its because he lost, but because there was so much action in the fights.

[Rob]

You kidding me? That Couture fight sucked a cock. In fact, more Couture fights fucking blow. The only reason they get over is that he is Randy Couture. If they were Lyoto Machida fights, people would hate them. That's a praise of Couture's natural charisma though.

[Reavant]

ummm.... if you mean couture pre-205 then I may agree with you, but since his first fight with liddell and the victory over tito, he hasnt had a single fight go to a decision other than the fight with sylvia and you cant blame him for that. Sylvia makes everyone he fights look bad win or lose because hes so awkward. Other than his fights with shamrock however Tito hasnt finished a fight since 2001.

Say what you want about the fight but I dont see how you can say it sucked. Tito got taken down and manhandled the way he usually fought people and he had it done to him by an old man. Not to mention the whole getting spanked on the ass during the fight and the fact that it was a title. Plus it was a turning point in the history of MMA, but hey its your opinion I guess.

But the compairison to lyoto machida is retarded. If randy fought to win decisions, not engage opponents and win tactical fights, he would be looked at no differently than machida. He made is career off of pressing opponents, going after them and pummeling them until they could no longer fight. Hes never layed and prayed... hes always been aggressive in fact that has cost him fights! but your opinion is your opinion i guess.

[Reavant]

Im not dissing you for liking tito, but the guy is all talk and no fight

[Rob]

I'm not saying Couture fights like Machida. I'm saying his fights are boring and if you replaced his name with just about any other fighter, people would call them boring fights.

As for Ortiz, my being a fan of his has nothing to do with him being a money fighter. Actually it probably does. He makes people wanna buy his fights and that's something not a lot of people can say. As for his fights going to decisions, so do a ton of Clay Guida fights. That don't mean shit.

[Reavant]

and im saying that coutures style is what has made him so popular, so if you take everything hes done with the same results and change the name and body, he is still just as popular. Tito is popular because of his mouth. If Tito wasnt so outspoken, we would have never heard from him after the loss to liddel because he wouldnt have been starting shit in the public and getting people to pay attention to him. People think hes good because he says hes good. People think Randy is good because of his results.

As for guida, you can also argue the movement and power in 155 lb fights arent really compairable to 205 which is the reason for more decisions to finishes. Decision fights at 155 usually get fight of the night... decision fights above 205 get boos more often than not.

[Rob]

I don't think Couture's style made him popular at all. His "story" of being the old man coming back for a Rocky style run made him popular. He was being brought back at 205lbs to lose fights. It just didn't work.

I don't believe the decision arguement either. There has probably been others but the last fight at 205lbs that sticks out to me that went to a decision was Rampage vs. Forrest and that was arguably fight of the YEAR. I can't remember too many 205lbs fights getting booed at the decision either but then again, I can't remember too many fights at 205lbs going to decisions.

[Stickman]

Tito vs Machida comes to mind.

[Rob]

That was before Rampage vs. Forrest. And it was Machida who got booed. Ortiz was over like a motherfucker.

[Reavant]

decision fights above 205 get boos more often than not.


any brandon vera fight since his drop to 205???
arlovski and werdum?
Evans and bisbing?

Oh and if your finishing fights, that pretty much gaurantees your not boring because your giving the fans what they want to see. Do you remember the hype machida got when he dismantled Sokudjo?

Also who cares if the tito machida fight came before the forrest rampage fight? does the rampage forrest fight completely nullify the arguement? NO in fact, the only reason the fight was exciting was because of what the two fighters brought to the fight. Forrest is allways pressing the action and rampage has huge power and looks for the finish. Of course thats going to be a good fight regardless of what happens.

And tito was over because of the trash talk not because of anything to do with his fighting ability. Actually it was probably even more because people were really hating on Dana white at that time and a boo to machida was basically a boo to dana.

[Haze]

Tito Ortiz vs. Yuki Kondo
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Tito Ortiz vs. Evan Tanner (R.I.P)
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These are some of his more dominating performances back when he was a beast.

[Stickman]

How many years ago are those fights?

[Haze]

2001? 2002? maybe

[Savio]

THIS THREAD KEEPS REMINDING ME OF "LETS TALK ABOUT SEX BABY"

[Haze]

lets talk about you and me...dammit now i have the song stuck in my head