Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin Rematch Set for UFC 106
Tito Ortiz’s return to the Octagon at UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas will be a rematch with fellow-former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin, the promotion announced late Thursday.
Ortiz, who was left without an opponent after Mark Coleman withdrew from the co-main event earlier this week, previously defeated Griffin by split decision at UFC 59 in April 2006. “The Huntington Beach Badboy” returns to action for the first time since a May 2008 loss to Lyoto Machida and is 0-2-1 since his last win in October 2006 over Ken Shamrock.
Griffin briefly held the 205-pound title after defeating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson last July, but is coming off back-to-back losses to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva.
Pictured: Forrest Griffin
Tags: Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz
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WOW. i hope forrest avenges his loss and you know he gonna come out of the gates like a bat out of hell after his last performance. hope he RNC him
forrest will lose to tito whether you guys like it or not?? (if you guys like him..)
wow interesting switch for Ortiz. Goes from fighting someone who fights very similar to someone who well is the definition of a freestyle fighter. I think you can throw the first fight out the window since forrest is not the same guy he was then BUT the real question will be about his focus. I’ll pick apart the fight later but I am intrigued by this development.
This is a wonderful fight for both Ortiz and Griffin, I’m actually looking forward to this bout.
I can’t see this turning out well for Griffin. The only other times he’s fought a great wrestler he lost (unless you count Hector Ramirez as a great wrestler, which I don’t). Forrest is best when he’s fighting a brawler. He doesn’t have the KO power to do to Tito what Chuck did and I don’t think he has the wrestling to prevent the takedowns. Tito by UD or first round TKO.
Can you say “Run Forrest Run”?!?!?!
Ortiz is a “great wrestler” because he gets takedowns all the time huh, com’on man
Ortiz has great wrestling, yes. I’ll say that and I’m not even a big Tito fan.
He used his great wrestling to become and remain the longest reigning LHW champ in UFC history; 5 title defences if wikipedia serves me correctly. He not Great, but he’s a great wrestler for the purpose of MMA. Or maybe my memory is fogged by the adolescent excitement of watching a young bleach-haired man from Huntington Beach manhandle foes with takedowns and vicious poundings.
If Tito’s primarily a wrestler, and he has success because of said wrestling, then that makes him a, gulp, great wrestler for the purpose of MMA. No he’s no NCAA Div I champ, but it’s all semantics from here on out. Next time I’ll preface potentially factual comments with qualifying arguments.
I think that maybe Ortiz got a rep as a “great wrestler” a decade ago when UFC fighters were far less polished and far less well-rounded, so anyone scoring some takedowns was credited as being a grea wrestler.
Honestly, by today’s standards, Tito’s wrestling is about average, and at 205 Hendo or Matt Hamill would probably wipe the mat with him in terms of grappling…
sorry wasn’t trying to “attack” you on your statement, I personally don’t believe he has great wrestling..
Fair enough. As the fire alarm lady says at work “All clear, resume normal duties”
isnt chuck the longest reigning lhw champ with 6 defenses?
nevermind im dumb
i always wanted to see a rematch..kind of sux coz i wanted tito with a win comin back to the ufc and i also want griffin with a win after his two bad losses..going towards tito on this as well if he comes in is best dont think the best griffin will beat the best tito
is 0-2-1 since his last win in October 2006 over Frank Shamrock. ?
its Ken Shamrock my friend
Fixed. Gracias, senor.
Tito all the way
Tito by GnP…
This is a good fight, and a rematch people wanted to see. I really hope Forrest can get a win here. Both men need a win in this fight, but I don’t think either one would end up jobless with a loss. My biggest concern is that if Forrest loses, this would be his third loss in a row. As a fan, I don’t want to see that anyways, but based on what his mental state seems to be following the embarrassment he suffered at the hands of Anderson Silva, I worry what a loss would do to his mental well being. If Tito were to lose (who I don’t care for anyways) I doubt his self image would be hurt, but a third consecutive loss, especially if he were to get embarrassed again, and Forrest might call it quits on his own, he wouldn’t have to get shown the door.
This is a big fight for Tito and “Run Forrest Run”
When Tito wins
he will be in the top 10 LHW
In my book
Fortunately, it’s Dana White’s book that counts…
amen to that
Tito will literally have to behead Forrest to get into Dana’s top 10.
” be” head…oh i misread that at first..thought you said “give” lol….sorry couldn’t resist, I’m a tito hater. lol
Lets go Forrest!! This will be the fight that gets him back in the win column.
Love this rematch. Way better than Coleman. Wasnt too pumped for that fight. Looking forward to this one. Go Forrest!
Lets go Tito! I don’t Forrest will be the same fighter after Silva but we’ll see. I wanna see Tito win then a rematch with Rashad who he beat last time I have no idea how they scored that a draw.
Tito constantly grabbing the cage to keep himself from getting taken down, so the ref took a “point” away from Ortiz and thats how he drew with Shad, it was his great wrestling
ooo’s nooo’s ha
Oh yeah thats right i forgot about the fence.
Excellent example of “on the fly” matchmaking, as both men are name fighters who need a win to get back on the 205 track, however IMO Griffin needs it more than Ortiz.
If Ortiz loses, he’ll claim ring rust, slow back surgery recovery, underestimating Griffin, and so on, and thereby guarantee himself another decent match-up, probably with Mark Coleman, in late winter 2010.
Griffin, on the other hand, if he loses, will be facing 3 losses in a row, and his “fleeing the scene of the crime” in Philadelphia is still fresh in a lot of our minds, particularly those of his detractors.
His top 5 205 status will definitely be called into question, and his grip on another title shot will slip a bit further from his fingers.
His job, however, will be secure, because of his popularity with the fans, and the good will of Dana White.
For Griffin, if he were to lose this fight with Ortiz, would have to wonder “where do I go from here?”, considering that he lost to a 185er masquerading as a part time 205er in a humiliating fashion, and then [theoretically] to a guy that hasn’t fought in like 18 months, and hadn’t won a fight in 3 years.
Also, as a reminder, for those who might think that age is a factor, Ortiz is only 4 years older than Griffin, but it seems like he’s been around forever because he started in our sport so damned young…
just a question, How is it “on the fly matchmaking” when they both get 5 perhaps 6 weeks to train for one another specifically, I’ve also read other people at other places saying this was “last minute” and I personally believe that is a little bit further from the truth than alot of people will allow themselves to believe, keeping that “cushion of excuses” there if needed, not saying this is your statement just stating things that I’ve noticed on this interwebbie thingy
Just to be clear, I’m not saying that this is “on the fly” for the fighters, but that it was a great save by Dana White and Joe Silva.
As for the fighters, this is only MAYBE slightly less than standard training time IMO.
I mean, we just got this Mark Coleman thing like 48 hours ago, and they put this Griffin thing in play pretty quick, so I was giving White and Joe Silva their props is all.
Hope that clears it up for you, boss…
I get what you’re saying and I thought it was the case, just was putting my thoughts of situation out there ya know
Tito vs Rashad fight was bull, Tito won.
it will be the Tito vs rematch.com show soon
he did it to himself honestly
2 Fights we get to see Forest Run. Don’t stop till Jenny (lol) tells you. HA HA HA
I’m feeling winner of Forrest Vs. Tito fights winner of T. Silva Vs. Rashad for #1 Contender
Great fight! I feel sorry for Tito actually. I gave the first fight to Forrest and that was when he was just getting started. Forrest’s striking is greatly improved and I expect him to pick a part the Huntington Beach bad boy who will be dusting off the cobwebs in this one.
Let’s get one thing straight, Forrest is the same guy who out pointed and beat Rampage Jackson who is a far better wrestler and striker than Tito is and submitted Shogun, whom is far better submission artist and striker than Tito.
Tito does not have the knockout power that Silva or Rashad do and with his recent inactivity I don’t think he stands a chance.
Forrest will be training hard and has something to prove after his dismantling in the Silva fight.
Forrest has long deserved and awaited a rematch with Tito Ortiz, and I see him winning this one by unanimous decision.
Griffin can win this fight ONLY if his mind is right coming into it. I’m sure he took a lot of psychological damage after losing to both Rashad and A. Silva (more so Silva). If he is prepared mentaly and fights the way that we have seen him fight before, he can pull this out. If not, it will be a long night for our boy Forrest. I expect Forrest via UD.
yeah dude i agree. Forres imho is a better overall fighter than tito and has evolved his game more but that won’t matter if he goes in there not mentally prepare. Tito is a mentally strong guy who’s aching to get back in the cage and “punish” anyone in his way back to the top. Tito is hella confident and is going in there confident because he’s already beaten forrest.
I’m going for tito in this one. I really want to see him come back strong and fight some of the top 205ers but that won’t happen if his first fight back is a loss which will be his second loss in a row and it will be a loss to a guy who’s coming off of two losses.
Tito baby! Tito!
i think i called this fight
,
-good fight for both guys but also a dangerous fight for both guys. If Forrest loses it’s 3 in a row and if Tito loses well then all the talk about him being done and washed up will begin, but still a way better fight than Tito-Coleman
they made a bad fight (coleman vs ortiz) to a great fight!
I’m really interested to see this rematch.
I feel that Forrest won their first fight. He definately lost round 1 but came back in rounds 2 and 3 and out preformed a gassed tito, and if there was a winner it would have had to go to Forrest, but those two judges scored a last minute takedown to be greater than multiple takedown stuffs and even better than the damage Forrest did to Tito in the downed position.
That being said, one of the faults Tito had going into that fight was his back and his knee. If Tito’s back is 100% and no lingering injuries are carried into this fight, we may very well see a completely different Tito Ortiz.
Tito has a great chin and has never been really KO’d before. Yes be’s been TKO’d by Chuck a couple times, but he was never unconscious. Luckily for Forrest, knocking people out is not a part of the Griffin game plan. If Forrest can use his Jits offensively, Tito may decide he doesn’t like the ground game. We’ll see. But I think this matchup is a win/win for Tito and a win/lose for Forrest. Tito wins, then he validates his last victory and places himself back into contention for the belt, after all he holds 2 victories now over one of the previous LHW champs (Forrest) tied the following champion (Rashad) and went the distance against the reigning champion, nearly catching him in a fight ending submission (Machida), on the other hand if Tito loses, he can (and probably will) chalk that up to the long absense from the sport and will promise to come back stronger against a 45 year old coleman, or a washed up Stephan Bonnar, or perhaps maybe call out Houston Alexander or something.
Forrest wins the fight and he avenges a loss on his record, but in many fans eyes it will just be a win against an aging ‘use to be’ fighter and not real top competition, while a loss will damage Forrests standings very badly.
Forrest will be to much for Tito!!!! Then I hope we never see Tito fight again!
Great job finding a replacement on short notice, and this will be an exciting fight as there are MANY hardcore Tito fans (like Jazzkok) and ALOT of hardcore Forrest fans (like myself
) Should be well hyped as well given that Tito’s mouthpeice is probably stained brown from all the sh!t he talks. This is a good test for both fighters, to see if they really got it and deserve to climb a step closer to title contention.
And for all those that like to throw that played out “Run Forrest!!” thing out there that we’ve already heard dozens of times on this site alone, lets not forget Tito has not only cried in the octagon but has been the only fighter to be patted on his a$$, during a fight, like one would a helpless infant.
All Forrest has to do is keep the same takedown defense going that he displayed in rounds 2 and 3 of their prior fight. How else can Tito beat him? The answer is he can’t and Tito is such a one dimensional fighter that even if he can’t get a takedown he just keeps trying over and over again and has never really displayed anything else of note imo. SHould be an easy win for Forrest if he can avoid the dozens of shoot attempts were inevitably going to see from the mono-dimensional Ortiz.
@Paino
i dont think so… i see forrest running out of the arena again and kissing his Mcd`s quarter pounder
As much as i want tito to win I have to admit that this is a dangerous fight for him.
I agree with Naturaldisaster, tito has been pretty one dimensional with his wrestling and GnP. His striking his terrible but not good enough to hang with forrest’s inho. EVen if it has improved, i doubt it will be a dramatic change BUT he is the master @ GnP and is coming back hungry and pissed as where forrest is probably going to come back in a “holy shiit i just lost 2 in a row and HAVE to win this fight” state of mind. We will see my friends we will see.
Tito baby! Tito!
I’ll admit that Tito’s striking looked feeble in comparison to Chuck Liddell’s, but then again, so did almost everyone else’s…
*his strking ISN”T terrible
If Forrest loses this fight, and sprints to the back afterwards like he did against Anderson Silva, he can name the sequel to his best-seller “Got FLIGHT?”
See, now was that so hard? Same topic, completely new and original joke. Plus it was funny.
Yea both do need a win. I was hopin Tito could come in and win one at least but I don’t see him beating Forrest. IMO he won the first fight but got DESTROYED in the first rd. it was a draw on my card
forrest is a tougher match for tito, age and style wise.
neither prefer easy fights
griffin by decision
Tito will bring it!!!!
This is a toss up. You really cant base this fight off of the first fight. Forrest is coming off of two bad, somewhat humiliating losses. So he is going to need to be mentally strong. If this was before the Silva fight, I would pick Forrest, but idk right this moment.
You also have to think about Tito and how he finally got the surgery he needed, he will be very healthy, and he is also training wih Freddy Roach. And anybody that knows fighting, they know that Roach is amazing. So I honestly dont know who to pick. Its a lose lose situation for me, because I like both fighters alot. I could see the fight going the same way the first fight did.
Tito via split decision.
but that prediction might change in the next few weeks
I think the whole MMA fighter training with Freddy Roach thing is over rated, I mean look how much good it’s done Andrei Arlovski, two consecutive KO losses.
Here’s hoping Forrest gets back on track. I’ll be rooting for him to win (right along with everyone else at the bar).
Dana White has a charitable heart, letting washouts like Frank Trigg and Tito Ortiz come back. Forrest should be one more opponent the most overhyped Light Heavyweight in history will lose to. Hopefully.
Nothing personal, but Forrest needs this.
Tito is no washout
Love to see the comments from people saying Forrest won the first fight. I am in totaly agreement. Tito got the nod just because Forrest was still very new and it was uncertain whether guys from TUF truly deserved to be in limelight fights. Same fight scored today I think Forrest would get the nod. And in the mean time Forrest has improved into a world class fighter. Yes he has lost the last two, but look who they were against. NO shame in losing to those to guys for anyone! And in the mean time on the other side, tito hasn’t fought, has also lost, and has had some pretty serious health issues.
This is the perfect fight for Forrest. He gets to avenge a loss, regain some ring confidence, and do it against a well known and well respected fighter.
Forrest by unaminous decision.
Judging a fight based on who the person is and not what took place during the fight? Really? I think that’s a terrible idea.
Now why would you say that? Don’t you know that’s the greatest idea I’ve ever heard? We should send his idea to all the State Athletic Commissions and see if we can get it implemented…
I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I agree its a rotten way to score a fight, but I do think that is why Ortiz got the decision. That fight clearly should have gone to Forrest.
Been a while since I saw the fight, so it’s hard for me to say at this point. Glad you clarified your point, though. Sorry to have misunderstood.
No problem man.
Saw your comment and was like ‘wtf? Justin normally says pretty intelligent stuff!’ LOL
tito
would have probably lost a 4rth round most likely.
but i think he deserved the decision – it was a 3 rounder after all.
ortiz still looks great but in spite of his rep for great cardio looked gassed against griffin, but won a narrow victory after blowing his wad in the 1st round.
griffin learned to stuff ortiz td ’s which foiled his whole plan.
i’d favor griffin based on their last fight, but thought that tito looked better against rashad and l;yoto – even though he drawed and lost – his td attempts are better
as of late. if tito wins and machida loses to shogun i wanna see tito machida 2
dana is picking tough match up’s for tito but this is a good even interesting match up