Tito Ortiz

Somewhere in my obsessive MMA surfing I came across this tidbit. It appears that (according to Rashad Evans camp) UFC 77 will be the venue for Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz - the rematch.

Tito and Rashad fought to a snoozefest draw at UFC 73. Tito would have won the match except that he had a point taken away for holding the fence in the second round (something that he did more than once and was warned about). Rashad won the last 30 seconds of the fight after Tito gassed and was given the third round as a reward.

Also on the UFC 77 card is Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin - the rematch. Rich Franklin got his face busted up in their first meeting as Anderson Silva put on a Muay Thai clinic landing knees from the clinch.

In a post UFC 73 Press conference, Dana White confirmed that Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans will have their rematch. This was after the fighters exchanced some heated words. Apparently they both think that they won their fight last night. Continue reading "UFC 73 - Ortiz and Evans will have a rematch" »

Background : Tito Ortiz faces undefeated Rashad Evans at UFC 73 on Saturday July 9th.

This weekend I did a bit of camping and as things sometimes do, the talk turned to fighting. A lot of people were asking me what I thought about Tito vs Rashad next weekend. The people I was camping with are mostly fairly new MMA fans and although a couple of them have started training with some BJJ and kickboxing most of them weren't watching MMA when Tito Ortiz was fighting Frank Shamrock instead of Ken Shamrock.

The general consensus among these relatively new MMA fans is that Rashad is an "animal" who will easily defeat Tito. With the memory of Rashad Evans KO'ing Sean Salmon fresh in their memories and Tito loosing to Chuck Liddell there as well, who can blame them?

I decided to throw my viewpoint into the ring and see what they had to say about it. My viewpoint is that Tito has only lost to the very best in the sport (if you exclude his early career loss to Guy M). Tito has lost to Frank Shamrock (a fight he was dominating until he ran out of gas), to Randy Couture and twice to Chuck Liddell.

Considering that Shamrock retired as champion (he's now fighting again in EliteXC), Liddell held the title for 3 years and Randy is a legend with titles in two weight classes; I don't think Tito has done too badly.

Tito is a good wrestler, but more importantly, if Tito puts you on your back you are in danger. I've seen a bunch of postings on UFCJunkie.com (in the comments sections) of how Tito won't be able to lay and pray on Rashad. I can't remember the last fight where Tito layed and prayed. Tito has one of the most active ground games out there. From top position Tito can land hard punches and elbows from full guard, something a lot of fighters have trouble doing). For those who accuse Tito of laying and praying, dig up some old tapes and watch Tito against Forrest (round 1), Tito against Elvis, Tanner or Ken Shamrock...

Now, let's get Rashad his due, he has done very well and is undefeated, but look at who he's faced. The only big name on his list is Stephan Bonner. Bonner is tough, no doubt, but he hasn't exactly risen to the top of the division.

We'll see who's right on Saturday night. I personally think that Tito Ortizwill defeat Rashad Evans...but as they say, anything can happen...that's why they hold the fight.

UFC 73 Prediction : Tito Ortiz

On a recent Full Contact Fighter radio broadcast, Sokoudjou has stated that if he fights next in the UFC he wants to fight Tito Ortiz. If he fights next in Pride then he wants Shogun. Considering that it has been announced that Shogun will be fighting in the UFC (at UFC 76), it looks like if Sokoudjou is to get his wish he will need to come to the UFC!

Sokoudjou fights at light heavyweight and holds wins over Ricardo Arona and Big Nog's little brother (little Nog).

I'm going to claim this outright...UFC 73 is the best card that the UFC has ever put on.

Part of press release from ufc.com

“We have five UFC events lined up now through July in the US and UK, and every one of them is stacked with great fights,” said UFC President Dana White. “No matter where we have a UFC, our goal is always the same – to deliver the best fights between the best mixed martial arts fighters. Our fans know they will always see a good fight, and that’s why the UFC reigns supreme in live sports today.”

White continues, “UFC 73 is one of the best cards we’ve put together this year. It’s going to deliver the one-two punch fight fans want – it has Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, two all-state college wrestlers, both who dislike each other, settling their differences in the Octagon, as well as title defenses by our two champions Anderson Silva and Sean Sherk. We’re working on more fights right now to pack this card even heavier from top to bottom.”

About his upcoming fight versus Rashad Evans, “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz stated, “Everybody should expect fireworks. Rashad is standing in the way of my getting another title shot, and my prediction is that he won’t be able to handle my tempo or the 18,000 Tito Ortiz fans that are in Sacramento to see me win. My prediction is that fans will definitely get their money’s worth.”

Evans countered, “Tito needs to learn the meaning of respect. On July 7, I’m going to teach him what that’s all about. Let him come down from the mountain to Greg Jackson’s training camp and he’ll see what he’s up against. I’m focused and on a mission, and my goal is to knock him out.”

Read more at ufc.com

Rumour Mill: Tito Ortiz will face Keith Jardine at UFC 71 in May of this year.

Let's all hope that this one his true. Ortiz vs Griffin was great, Jardine also defeated Griffin. It would be excellent to see these two go at it. The winner of this bout would no doubt be on the fast track to a title shot against the winner of Liddell vs Rampage (assuming that Liddell-Rampage happens) or to meet Rashad Evans in a title eliminator.

Looks like 2007 is going to be a great year for UFC fans!