Tito Ortiz: A ‘New Beginning’ Starts Today
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Jul 31, 2009 at 7:14 am ET37 Comments
Adding fuel to the fire that his UFC return could be announced by Dana White at today’s press conference, Tito Ortiz writes on MySpace that his ‘new beginning’ starts today:
“A new beginning starts [today]. I have stood my ground as a fighter and business man. Now my fans will get to see the best of me. New back, new mind, and new motivation. Every fighter will thank me later.
“My fans have made a decision easier for me to make. The future of my career will be made [today]. I hope you you will be as happy as I am. Let the punishment begin!”
MMAFrenzy.com will have live coverage of today’s press conference beginning at 2pm ET, so stay tuned to see if Ortiz’ return is indeed among today’s announcements.
Tags: Tito Ortiz
Loading ...
I haven’t been a great fan of Tito, but I’ll be watching his first fight back in the UFC and hope to be pleasantly surprised with some good action.
Can’t wait to see him get KO’d again.
Hell Yea!
Gawd!!!! Do we have to see his idiot fight again? Good night, Tito, this wont last long.
I hope to see the Tito of old with his back fixed and all but I just don’t think that will happen. I honestly don’t think that his wrestling is up to par to be like what he use to be. I hope I’m wrong.
I think he’ll dominate his Shamrock-esque opponents, then get crushed by anyone with even an outside chance at a title shot.
and honestly, who uses myspace anymore?
Yeah, very true dbiz. It looks like he will have a career as a gate keeper to the LHW division.
couldn’t agree more. what time is dana doing the press conference?
2pm EST. I do believe that MMAFrenzy.com will be covering the event.
can’t what to see his butt get kicked when he says he’ll start new better. i think is in like top 20 fighter in ufc but top 15.
I NEVER thought I would say this but reading something about Tito Ortiz is actually a breath of fresh air lately. And now I feel dirty for saying it.
I don’t like Tito, never have really, but I really don’t have a problem with this whatsoever. I may even like this idea. No problems here. Good stuff.
Although, the LHW division has evolved quite a bit since his glory days. I wonder what kind of “protection” he gets in the early going match-making.
I for one would love to see a Tito-Forrest rematch.
IM ACTUALLY KINDA PUMPED TO SEE TITO BACK… I ACTUALLY WANNA SEE HIM WIN SOME. AND I NEVER LIKE TITO BUT I FOUND THIS AS SOME GOOD NEWS. WAR TITO
Good to see you back, CAPSLOCK
YZFOXRACING,
DUDE I AGREE WITH YOU, I ALSO PUMPED TO SEE TITO BACK, HE’S ONE OF MY FAV FIGHTERS AND I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM PUT A HURTN’ ON SOMEONME, I HOPE HE GETS A REMATCH WITH EVANS AND DOES HIM LIKE MACHIDA DID, IF HE DOES GET FRANKLIN I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HIM POUND ON ACE WITH THOSE ELBOWS FROM THE GUARD, GOOD NEWS THAT THE PUNISHMENT IS BACK.
just stop, it only works when ZYFOXRACING does it.
micjaspro,
DUDE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHAT ONLY WORKS WHEN YZFOXRACING DOES IT?
ANYWAY, IF TITO DOESN’T GET FRANKLIN IT’S HARD TO PREDICT WHO HE WILL FIGHT BECAUSE I’M SURE THEY DON’T WANT HIM TO RETURN TO FIGHT A NOBODY. BUT I’M SURE HE’LL GET ACE, THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE.
the way he makes it sound is that he wont be back as a fighter or even in the ufc, i think his news will blow our mind…
New back, new mind, and new motivation. Every fighter will thank me later.
is he the MMA Massiah?
Long time reader, first time poster. First off I love this site and the various personalities who post here. Look forward to engaging you guys on a myriad of topics.
Never have cared much for Tito but I have little choice but to admire his warrior spirit. Another big name, big draw and fighter with a skill set for the UFC. Sure he may be viewed as not having evolved along with the current talent, but one thing is undeniable…Tito will BRING IT. I have little to criticize about a fighter who loves to mash. Hope they toss him a small fish or two so when he fights the likes of Henderson or Rampage the anticipation is enough to make his getting KTFO’d worthwhile.
Glad to have you as a reader, welcome to the ranks of commentators.
hope to see the huntington beach bad boy in TEXAS at 103! I’m crossing my fingers!
Ko’d or a victory, which ever you hope for,tito usaully trys his best to put on a show and there is always some sort of excitment backing his fights….hopefully he does have a new back, mind and motivation.Glad to see him back!!
naturaldizaster,
i have go with you on this one dude. I like tito and he’s one of the few fighters that does have this “warrior” spirit. Although he’s a veteran, imo he should get a sort of “tune up” fight. Bonnar’s been hella calling him out, but i’m not sure bonnar vs ortiz would intriuging to anyone. I hope tito has worked his overall game and comes back strong.
FYI, if i’m not mistakened, rampage trained with tito when rampage was in pride and tito was still main eventing. Rampage and tito are boys so that’s a fight i’m not sure they would take, but then again rampage was boys with hendo and they went at it. I have to remind myself that not every fighter is an “aka” fighter…:)
Agreed, Jazzkok. Ortiz vs Bonnar makes sense but it really is not very attractive. Maybe Ortiz vs Cantwell/ Stann/ Gusmao?
If Tito is back fighting in the UFC then I love the Idea of him fighting Franklin..
It would show where both fighters are at in their stage in the mma scence “right now”.
Unlike the rematch between Hendo/Franklin!
Even though I do not like Tito as a fighter, i am excited for the possibility of him fighting in dallas as 103. This fight against rich really helps the card in my opinion. I have no interest in watching Hendo/Franklin 2, so i think this overall is a good thing for the UFC.
I think another fight with Chuck would sell some PPV’s, and probably be an entertaining fight as well. I still think Tito’s best is way behind him and he’s more into marketing himself for cash at this point. More bark than bite.
I don’t see the point in having Chuck/ Tito 3. Tito got pwned both times against Chuck, I’m sure he wouldn’t be looking for a rematch. Though not yet confirmed, Chuck might be retiring so he might not be fighting anyone.
Tito, has been full of himself in the past, has had a bad attitude and I think he kind of forgot who he is and what he fights for. If he gets into his old mentality of being a fighter and not a celebrity he could really be relevent to the lhw division.
Champion, probably not seeing as how machida has already kicked his as while he was under the weather. If you look at the fighters he’s beat and even fought to a decision you have to respect him for his abilities as a fighter even if you don’t respect him as a person.
Tito, has been full of himself in the past, has had a bad attitude and I think he kind of forgot who he is and what he fights for. If he gets into his old mentality of being a fighter and not a celebrity he could really be relevent to the lhw division.
Champion, probably not seeing as how machida has already kicked his as while he was under the weather. If you look at the fighters he’s beat and even fought to a decision you have to respect him for his abilities as a fighter even if you don’t respect him as a person.
Tito is a champ,
its SOOOOOOOOOO good to Have him back in the UFC
Let the punishment begin!
ya its funny how many people talk like hes totally over the hill and terrible but he beat forrest recent champ basically beat rashad last champ and didnt get killed by machida like the rest of his recent opponents its not like he has been knocked out every fight like chuck has im personally interested to see what tito can pull of even if i think he is a meat head with all of his cry baby celeb bull**** lately
Im glad Tito is finally back. Love him or hate him the UFC has allways been his home and allways should be.
Tito has said that he is interested in a “warm up fight” before hopping back in there with the sharks of 205.
This could be risky for him, because a comeback loss to someone like Obrian, or Stann or Marerro, would be a big blow to to Tito, and the UFC’s ability to market him.
Where as if he were to comeback and fight a top 10 or higher fighter it would not be a big shock and as big a blow to Ortiz’s career if he were to lose.
IMO a good comeback fight would be against someone like Rua after he gets his a$$ whupped by Shogun. Or a rematch with Griffin could be a huge main event all on its own. Even a rematch with Rashad would be great. I wouldnt be putting my money on Tito in any of these fights, but it would be entertaining nonetheless. Plus I still feel that Tito has a few good performances left in him. The guy has been fighting injured for so many years now it would be nice to see him come back strong. He has never realy looked great to me(besides the first round with Griffin) but also has never looked horrible.
At the end of the day I just want to see him fight, cause like N.dizaster said. “He brings it”
Ultimately, no pun intended, the UFC brought Tito Ortiz simply back because they could, and to deny his services to their competition, no matter how insignificant they might be.
Ortiz, whether you’re a supporter or detractor, is a definite name in MMA, and a significant player in the early unfolding drama that is the UFC. It would be pretty undignified if Tito were to finish out his career in Japan, fighting for some fly by night org like M-1 Global, and it was obvious that he was out of Strikeforce’s price range.
And if healthy, probably beyond their talent range at 205.
I’m sure after an underwhelming response from other MMA promoters, Dana probably signed Tito for half of his original asking price, or less, and in return gets at bare minimum another LHW gatekeeper to spell Keith Jardine, another bullet in the promotional gun, as Ortiz has a energetic following, and patches up and ugly feud with a former friend and man he once represented.
Most everyone these days like when men that were boys squash their beef and hug it out, which is sort of what we have here.
Ortiz as both a sportsman and a businessman gets to be back in the game, back in the big show where the big money is, and where the bright lights and media coverage will help him sell a lot of Punishment Athletic gear, so he cashes in and makes out on multiple levels.
I’m sure the financial considerations are key with the new family Tito is rocking these days.
And of course the fans get to see the return and final MMA ride of the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, who if memory serves is the last man to present any sort of problems for the 205 champ Machida.
In the final analysis Dana did this because it was right for the UFC, it was right for Ortiz, and it was right for the fans, so its another win-win-win for all concerned…
Tito really wasn’t as bad as you guys say he is. His last 3 fights he beat forrest. He beat evans even with the point deduction he should have won that fight. He went the distance with the light heavyweight champ who is on an amazing run. I’m pretty excited to see him again. Who knows he will probably KO chuck this time everyone else is haha.
Actually, he has 0 wins in his last three fights: A loss to Liddell, a draw with Evans, and a loss to Machida who made him look like a bumbling old man. Before those three, he had two wins over Grandpa Shamrock, 10 years past his prime. Before that, more than three years ago, he beat Forrest.
Incidentally, Forrest would likely destroy him now. After all those leg kicks, Jacob will need a new leg before he can compete.
your right he did lose to chuck. I think he’d give forrest a run for his money. he got screwed with evans even with a deduction he should have won. he also went the distance with lyota when most cant even get passed 2 rounds. but he still would probably KO chuck now hahahaha