Regardless of UFC Fight Night 24 outcome, Tito Ortiz not ready to retire

Tito Ortiz laughed it off at first. Then he realized they were serious.

Not long after Matt Hamill handed him his third consecutive loss at this past October's UFC 121 event, he got a call from UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta and UFC president Dana White.

They told him he should retire. After the initial surprise, he pleaded with them.

"I said, 'You guys have got to give me a chance, man,'" Ortiz said. "Look at my last fights. I fought Forrest Griffin last year with a ruptured disk in my neck, and I still fought to a split decision. I come back a year later after neck surgery, and I fight a guy who's on a five-fight win streak, and I lost a couple of takedowns.

"You guys think I should retire? It's just crazy."

He eventually convinced them to give him one last shot. White later called him back, and Ortiz (15-8-1 MMA, 14-8-1 UFC) asked for a fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), the twin brother of former PRIDE and UFC champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. "Little Nog" had most recently lost a unanimous decision to blue-chip prospect Ryan Bader.

The two are now set to meet in the headliner of the recently announced UFC Fight Night 24 event, which takes place March 26 at Seattle's KeyArena and airs live on Spike TV.

"I probably could have gotten an easier fight, but I wanted to challenge myself," Ortiz said. "Do I fight someone who I'm supposed to beat, or do I fight someone that's supposed to beat me? I like these terms better."

This past Saturday, White said Ortiz will "probably retire" if he loses to Nogueira.

Once a dominant force in an early era of the Zuffa-owned UFC, Ortiz's back is against the wall. His family life, meanwhile, has never been better. Despite the storm around him, he's happier than ever.

During his title reign in which he defended his belt six consecutive times, he had an entourage of 15 people following him at all times. He had 15 or 16 training partners, all part of his Team Punishment MMA squad. He had that glow that surrounds a champ.

Now, he has four or five training partners. The original team has scattered to the winds. He recently has taken refuge at Kings MMA and works with Fabricio Werdum, Mark Munoz, Jake Ellenberger and former Chute Boxe patriarch Rafael Cordeiro. But he's just another guy on the team.

He has not won a fight since Oct. 10, 2006, when he railroaded Ken Shamrock a third time at "Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter," a special Spike TV event.

"If you were to look in my car right now, it's empty," Ortiz said. "There's no one behind me. I literally have four friends, and that's it."

How does that feel? It's part of the business, he shrugs. When you lose, you suck. When you win, you're the greatest. He needs a win; he needs to build himself back up. But there is no reason to retire.

"That doesn't sit well with me at all," he said. "I'm not getting knocked unconscious. I'm not getting submitted. I'm not getting dominated. I'm losing by decision; I'm losing by draws."

So when White hints at his retirement, Ortiz bristles. And regardless of the outcome of the March 26 fight, he said he'll keep going.

"One-hundred percent," Ortiz said. "I'm healthy for once. People don't understand the injuries that I've gone through. I've had some serious, serious surgeries, and I went through some serious pain over the last seven years, and I fought through it. Now that I'm healthy and I feel good, I want to compete. I want to show the best I possibly can and fight the best guys possible."

If you're a longtime MMA fan, you've heard this rap before. The injury stories, the bad circumstances, and bluntly put, the excuses that follow an Ortiz loss. Online, his name prompts a stream of abuse from fans who are tired of hearing him cry wolf.

Meanwhile, he has more than 80,000 followers on his Twitter account. He sells a ton of Team Punishment merchandise on his website. People still line up for autographs.

"I've been in the game for a long time," he said. "For anybody to criticize me and say that I make excuses, well, those are the people that haven't lived my life. Those guys are behind the computer and are the computer tough guys who eat donuts and drink coffee every single day. Those guys can't say [expletive]. Those are the people I don't pay attention to. I pay attention to the people who support me, the people that have my back whether I win, lose, or draw."

But really, a win is everything when it comes to salvaging what's left of a name that people, love him or hate him, care about. Ortiz thinks Nogueira will bring the best out of him, and he'll show people he's still a force to be reckoned with. He says that every time, and he believes it.

His back is to the wall, but he likes it that way.

"It's just a challenge God has given me, and a challenge the UFC and Dana has given me," Ortiz said.


Source: mmajunkie.com

Dana White: Lyoto Machida, Tito Ortiz in 'Must-Win' Fights

FORT HOOD, Texas – The UFC's light heavyweight division has long been considered by many to be the promotion's most competitive. And Dana White believes that is the case – and that some of his most notable fighters at 205 have crucial bouts coming up.

The UFC president, speaking Friday at a Q&A session for enlisted military personnel on the Fort Hood base, noted that former champions Lyoto Machida and Tito Ortiz are both in must-win situations in their next fights.

Machida beat Rashad Evans to win the light heavyweight title at UFC 98. He defended the belt with a controversial decision win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104, but lost it to him in their rematch at UFC 113 last May – his first career loss. Machida followed up that knockout setback with a split decision loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 123 in November.

Machida will fight UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, a former two-division champion, at UFC 129 in Toronto in April. A loss to Couture would be three straight for the Brazilian – which often signals a quick release from the UFC.

"He's had two losses in a row," White told the troops. "Right after he won the title, (UFC on-air analyst Joe) Rogan said this is 'The Machida Era,' and I thought so too. Then Shogun beat him, and then he just lost to Rampage. Now he's fighting Randy Couture in Toronto – and this is a must-win for him."

In addition, White said Ortiz, once one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, could be reaching the end of his career. Ortiz is scheduled for a main event fight on the UFC's Fight Night 24 card in Seattle in March against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

"Tito's got to win this fight to stay in the UFC," White said. "If he loses this fight, he'll probably retire."

Ortiz has not won a fight since 2006, when he won a split decision over Forrest Griffin. Earlier that year, he had a pair of TKOs against Ken Shamrock. At UFC 66, Ortiz lost to Chuck Liddell in an attempt to reclaim the light heavyweight title he held and defended five times in the early 2000s. A draw against Evans followed, his only fight in 2007. Then came a loss to Machida, his only fight in 2008. That fight was thought to be his last in the UFC courtesy of a highly public feud with White.

But Ortiz returned at UFC 106 after he and White settled their differences. He lost a split decision, though, to Griffin, his only fight in 2009. And in his only fight in 2010, Ortiz lost to his former pupil on "The Ultimate Fighter," Matt Hamill, at UFC 121. He has been plagued by back injuries, including surgeries in an attempt to alleviate the problems.

White also said the injury to current light heavyweight champion Rua has helped create a bit of a cluster in the division. Rua defends his title for the first time when he takes on Evans at UFC 128 in Newark, N.J., on March 19.

But White said it may be one of his former champions who is next up, despite many who believe a UFC 126 fight between Jon Jones and Ryan Bader will determine the top contender. Bader is unbeaten; Jones' only loss was a disqualification against Hamill for illegal elbows, a fight he was dominating.

"(The light heavyweight) division is interesting," White said. "There's so many guys at 205, (but) Rampage is probably next in line. Rampage is still in the mix. You've got Jon Jones fighting Bader, which is going to be a great fight that catapults one of those guys into the top five. The big problem with the 205-pound division has been, Shogun's injury has been clogging up the division. So now he's healthy and gonna fight, and we're getting everything rolling here."

Jackson is scheduled to meet Thiago Silva at UFC 130 in May. Silva beat Brandon Vera in a unanimous decision at UFC 125 earlier this month, chasing him from the UFC in the process.

In another potentially important fight in the UFC's light heavyweight division, Griffin and former middleweight champion Rich Franklin fight as the co-main event at UFC 126.


Source: mmafighting.com

Vladdy “The Janitor” Matyushenko Wants To Mop Up The Winner of Nogueira/Ortiz

Vladimir Matyushenko has a bit of a grudge and he’s looking to settle it.

The often soft spoken Russian is silent no more about a couple of fighters that hold wins over him, and he’s looking towards a particular bout on March 26 to help unload that burden.

The main event of the upcoming UFC Fight Night in Seattle, Wash. features Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against Tito Ortiz in a light heavyweight battle, and Matyushenko is letting it be known that he wants to face the winner. Although from the sound of things, Matyushenko believes it’s Nogueira that he’d be facing.

“I can’t wait for the fight to see Tito get his ass kicked, I think that’s what’s going to happen,” Matyushenko told MMAWeekly on Wednesday. “You never know. I think he’s still in good shape. I can’t wait because I want to fight either of those guys. I want to fight both of them, but whoever wins I think will be a good match-up to fight me.

“I’d put money on (Nogueira), but it’s MMA. It’s fun to watch because you never know.”

Matyushenko has history with both fighters, inside and outside the UFC. The Russian born fighter stepped in on short noticed after an injury forced Vitor Belfort out of UFC 34, and Matyushenko took the chance and ended up losing a decision to Tito Ortiz in the main event on the card.

Meanwhile, Matyushenko has already had two fights against Nogueira. Matyushenko holds a win in 2002 over the Brazilian, and the pair rematched under the Affliction banner in 2009, with Nogueira coming out on top.

Unfortunately, Matyushenko went into the fight with a bum knee and while he takes nothing away from Nogueira in the win, he wants a chance to finish what they started almost 9 years ago.

“In my mind I still can beat them. I respect them both, but with Nogueira the last fight I had a serious injury before that and I think it was not a fair fight, and the fans want to see the real deal. Same with Tito, it was a short notice kind of deal and it was a long time ago, and a lot of fans keep asking me about it and I think it will be a good thing to happen,” Matyushenko stated.

After March 26, Matyushenko plans to once again call for the winner of the fight to meet him down the road, possibly at the UFC Rio event in Brazil. He spent time in the country over the holidays and says he would be honored to fight on that event, even against Brazilian Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

In the meantime, Matyushenko doesn’t plan on waiting around just to see who wins that fight. He wants to stay busy and looks to return to action in the first half of 2011.

“There’s a lot of guys in the 205lb division right now. Maybe Stephan Bonnar, I would like to fight him,” Matyushenko answered about who he’d like to fight next. “He’s kind of a veteran too and well known, but he’s a tough guy. I never turn away a fight, so whatever I’ve been offered I’ll fight, but that’s one that kind of interests me.”

Matyushenko’s manager, Nima Safapour from Alchemist Management, isn’t sure that Nogueira or Ortiz are up for the challenge, but he’s hopeful they’ll come around after March 26.

“First thing, Vladdy just wants to put on exciting fights for the fans. Vladdy has been calling out both guys ever since he got back to the UFC,” Safapour said. “It’s a fight they simply don’t want to take because they compromise their records doing so. But if they do step up and take the fight, it’s a bout the fans will praise them for, for years to come.”

Matyushenko is currently training in California while he waits for word from the UFC about his next fight, and he plans on watching the March 26 card with baited breath as well.

Source: mmaweekly.com

UFC Fight Night 24: Ortiz vs. Nogueira Fight Card Announced

Tito Ortiz, once one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, is now on his last leg with the promotion. He’s 0-4-1 in his last five fights, but getting a shot at redemption.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday made official UFC Fight Night 24, which features Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the main event. The event will take place on March 26 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

While Ortiz was sliding down, Nogueira was rising up, to the tune of seven straight victories. That is up until his last fight, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Top 10 ranked Ryan Bader at UFC 119.

Also made official in Wednesday’s announcement were several supporting bouts. Former title contender Dan Hardy will face Anthony Johnson in a welterweight battle, while another 170-pound contest features Duane “Bang” Ludwig and “Ultimate Fighter” winner Amir Sadollah.

Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia will rematch at UFC Fight Night 24, trying to silence critiques of a hotly disputed split decision victory for Garcia when the two met at the TUF 12 finale.


Source: mmaweekly.com