EliteXC Interested In Tito Ortiz
EliteXC matchmaker Jeremy Lappen addressed EliteXC’s interest in former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz during a media conference call for Saturday’s EliteXC “Return of the King” event earlier this week.
Here’s a quote from Lappen:
“We’re interested. We’d love to have Tito Ortiz as part of our organization. Any organization out there would love to have Tito. Yeah, we’re talking. We’ll see what happens. The deal has to be good for both sides. He’d be a great addition to our organization. But there are a lot of people actively pursuing him.”
Ortiz (15-6-1) fulfilled his contract with the UFC in a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 in May. He has not won a bout since defeating Ken Shamrock in late-2006, losing to Chuck Liddell in December 2006 at UFC 66 and fighting to a draw against Rashad Evans at UFC 73 last July. Despite the lack of recent victories, Ortiz possesses a strong fanbase and main stream popularity that make him a strong draw.
Affliction, which will stage its first event on July 19th in Anaheim, California, is also perusing Ortiz. Ortiz recently starred in a celebrity edition of “The Apprentice†reality show, which was hosted by recently-announced Affliction partner Donald Trump.
Dig into the MMAFrenzy.com archives for more Tito Ortiz news.
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Tito vs Kimbo?!?! I’d watch that!
Tito Ortiz can probably do very well in other promotions but he is no longer a UFC caliber fighter. On top of his dimishing fighting skills his personality is offensive and disgusting at times.(great for promotion) Throughout Tito’s career I have loved and hated him for the way he has acted towards fighters and Dana White but regardless, Ortiz is arogant and childish. Perhaps his attitude and little episodes were a distraction to his true fighting skills making him an overrated champion. It seems the UFC LHW division is far more stacked now than while Tito was champ and in his prime. Don’t get me wrong, Tito has indeed beat some tough guys…..just not lately. If Tito does decide to go to Elite XC, what a pile of dog $h!t, vomit, side show, circus act that will become. Tito Ortiz and Gary Shaw under one roof is disgusting. Elite XC is dirty enough at this point in time and the last thing it needs is someone like Tito with deteriorating physical/brain skills to jump in for the ride. Tito wants to be bigger than the sport….Personally AI’d like to see Tito go to Affliction where all the has beens, forme champs and retirees seem to be going.
Tito definitely has some options out there for him. I know Afflcition is also looking to sign him as well. If he signs with Elite, that will give Elite another big name and face and possibly add some credibilty to the organization. As far as fights are 205 outside of the UFC though. Other than probably Babolu or Frank Shamrock who would have to move up from 185 there really isn’t many people to fight at 205 outside the UFC at least that I can think of right now. Tito may have to move up to HW to get some marketable fights.
Even a rematch with Couture would cause either Randy to come down to 205 or Tito to move up to HW.
I think Tito is perfect for Elite XC. Tito and Kimbo give off the same classless vibe Gary Shaw would love to exploit. Gary Shaw could also act a little more knowledgeable about MMA should he get Tito on his roster. Gary won’t be fooling me but I know when he begins to spew out, “I just signed former UFC Champion Tito Ortiz who with Kimbo will bring Elite to the top of the MMA world.” Gary will say something dumb like that and one of my friend’s will repeat it like they have MMA knowledge. I will then snap and go on an F Gary Shaw rant, explain why Elite is a joke and still be worked up inside that Shaw is successfully fooling people.
HERE WE GO WITH TITO VS KIMBO CRAP. TITO WOULD GET THE **** KNOCKED OUT OF HIM. BUT GARY SHAW PROBABLY WOULD GET THAT FIGHT KNOWING KIMBO WOULD WIN JUST TO BUILD HIM UP EVEN MORE.
I disagree. I do not want to start this but Tito is athletic and has somtehing Kimbo doen’t….SKILL. Tito’s skill may be deteriorating but it’s still there. All Kimbo can do is punch bums and get his fights fixed. Tito would take Kimbo to the ground, Kimbo would be lost in the game and lose.
DON’T GET ME WRONG TITO DOES OF THE SKILL AND IT IS A BIG LOSS FOR UFC. BELIEVE IT OR NOT TITO BROUGHT IN ALOT OF MONEY FOR UFC. BUT I DON’T EVEN SEE THE FIGHT GOING TO THE FLOOR WITH KIMBO. AND BESIDES THERE IN TWO DIFFERENT WEIGHTCLASSES. AND I DON’T WANT EVERYONE ONE TO START TALKING A TITO/KIMBO FIGHT…”NOT GONNA HAPPEN”
He is washed up is time for him to retire already. Go have some babies with Jenna.
I WOULDN’T SAY HES DONE. SHAMROCK NEEDS TO RETIRE. TITO IS STILL IN GOOD SHAPE AND HE CAN STILL COMPETE.
I would love to see kimbo and brock lesnar or even iceman and kimbo we all know it proble will not happen just because of kimbo’s poor performance he has know cardio and lesnar or the iceman would tear him in half and as far as tito goes a fight with kimbo come on anyone with common sence know’s that is not going to happen way different weight class not to say tito would not win cause I thank he would kill kimbo!
tito is still a top fighter like him or not! kimbo is just a thug i no lots of people who u look at and think sh*t i wouldn’t mess with him just like u do when u see kimbo but put them in a cage against someone wiv mma skill like tito and there guna get hurt,
ide still lke to see tito in the ufc hes a big draw and makes any card sound better, i still want to see tito evens 2 buy doubt im going to thanks to dana n tito’s ****ing.
EXACTLY JOHNBOY. THATS A LOSS FOR UFC. TITO SELLS ANY CARD JUST LIKE ICEMAN. PEOPLE SEE THE NAME AND THEY PAY TO SEE. DANA NEEDS TO GET HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.
Tito may be a draw but he is no longer good enough for the UFC. He is a draw for having an immature personality and a slight dose of down syndrome. It is in no way the UFC’s loss with Tito going elsewhere. Tito wants to be bigger than the sport and he is not a top LHW anymore. UFC is for the best and Tito is not even close anymore. F Tito. The truth is the guy is such a pain in the a$$ he lost the opportunity to fight in the top MMA promotion in the world.
The only thing I agreed with you is Tito is in good shape and still can do something…and that ken should retire…..and that he brought money.. and it is a loss for the UFC..
but saying kimbo would kill tito…i need a seatbelt bc i about fell out of my chair laughing.. your telling me that a guy like the colosol caulflower ear can almost beat kimbo… but a guy of tito ortiz’s skill cant? hahahahaha wow….a guy like thompson can take kimbo to the ground but a stand out wrestler like Tito cant?!? ahahaha….wow..thats good stuff…
How about I just go ahead and put the rumors to bed… Tito will NOT sign with Elite…IF he continues with his career it will be with affliction…that is about as a no brainer as saying tito will not fight in the UFC again… Affliction can pay Tito top dollar…they have trump..so that is money and a great relationship with Tito…besides, Affliction is turning into the who’s who of fighters who have either been rejected by the UFC or just plain hate the UFC.. so all are reasons Tito will join… and I bet Tito would love a shot at Fedor…who in the fight world doesnt?
IF Tito went to Elite and fought Kimbo, he would beat him…saying Kimbo, a 1 dimensional, no stamina, no defense fighter…can beat a talented, well rounded fighter…well proven fighter, such as Tito….is frankly ludacris!
but hey…its my opinion…free country right?
Right off the bat I C Tito heading to Affliction but then again, Frank Shamrock is interested in a re- match with Tito. Frank Shamrock vs Tito, whether they are washed up or not would be a huge MMA draw and they would both cleanup on the $$$$.
I agree that Tito cannot compete with the TOP UFC fighters anymore but Dana White is right, he wants to be successful, not the best in the world. He’ll go where he can HEADline and make the most cash.
YEAH IT IS A FREE COUNTRY BUT I STICK BY WHAT I SAID. NO DISRESPECT BUT TITO PRETTY MUCH HAS NO CHIN ONE HIT WOULD LAY HIM OUT. ALTHOUGH ALL I WANNA SEE IS KIMBO LOSE I CAN’T STAND THE GUY.
random question would u rather have kimbo in the ufc or lesnar?
HONESTLY>>>>>> NEITHER
What a minute guys. How could you place Kimbo in the same category as far as class is concerned. You guys who label Kimbo as classless obviously haven’t heard ANY of his interviews and are going only by the way he looks. He is alot different than how he looks. The guy is FULL of class and very humble. Just listen to one of his interviews. Again, he can’t help that Gary Shaw is pushing him as hard as he is. Now as far as Tito is concerned, he is alot about SELF. He would relish the opportunity to be the NEW face of Elite. He wants to be the face of MMA period.
If Tito and Kimbo did fight, Tito had better not try to stand with Kimbo, because whether people want to believe it or not, Kimbo’s hands and boxing skills are already better than Tito’s RIGHT NOW! Tito would have to take him down and G&P. If Tito does that, I not sure Tito could survive. The thing is about Tito, in his “day”, NO ONE had better G&P than Tito in MMA, but he hasn’t done that good of a job at G&P here lately. So
that’s why I think Kimbo would have a chance. Tito has better Cardio than Kimbo though so he may just out last Kimbo. He better not try to stand with Kimbo or he will get KO’D.
THATS EXACTLY HOW IS SEE THE FIGHT GOING. AND I DON’T SEEN TITO ACTUALLY GETTING HIM DOWN. AND IF HE DOES I DOUBT IT WILL STAY THERE. BUT TITO DON’T WANT TO FIGHT HIM
Tito may not be at the top of the heap anymore, but he is still a good fighter. This conversation is similar to the one about Matt Hughes as of late. Both are good fighters, but have begun the inevitable decline from their peak days. Tito may not be LHW champ material anymore, but if he hadn’t left the UFC there would still be some entertaining fights for him there…rematch with Forrest or Evans for example, maybe Luiz Cane, James Irvin, Soukadjou, Bonnar, Hammil, Tim Boetsch, Houston Alexander…there could be plenty of entertaining fights for Tito if he stayed in the UFC. there’s nothing wrong with staying in the game and fighting for a paycheck and love of competition, even if he’s not title material anymore (just like Hughes.) I would rather see Tito stay and fight in the UFC some more instead of going to fight Elite and fighting Kimbo.
Lesnar has an incredible amateur wrestling background that is very similar and more impressive then Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, Koscheck. He’s huge, extremely athletic, powerful. Trained with Royce Gracie ( i believe he has a BJJ blue belt ), trains with Sean Sherks camp. He got submitted by Mir but in those 90 seconds, he also took him down twice at ease, gained side controle and almost finsihed the fight on a former UFC champion and top contender in the worlds most Elite organization.
Kimbo has a successful amateur background in YOU TUBE,dailymotion, google videos , has beaten Chico, the bouncer, afro puff …etc got defeated by Sean Gannon, beat 93 year old Ray Mercer,beat a 40 + year old alcoholic Tank abbott and barely beat James Thompson lol.
I wonder who sounds more UFC worthy ????????
http://maxim.com/Titoortizinsixquestions/video/26371.aspx
Honestly, Id LOVE to see a Lesnar/Kimbo fight.. just for the pure excitement..bc that is one of the fights you can bet your house on..that it wont go to a decision….
Tito could take Kimbo down with ease….Im sorry if you dont think so…but Kimbo does NOT have a good defense…Thompson took him down with ease…Tito may stand with him right away, maybe move around alot..get kimbo gassed…then drop him with a take down and prob submit him…
As for Matt Hughes…if he would ever drop his ego.. he could go back to his winning ways…im still baffeled as to why he would ever stand up.. WITH ANYONE…. though it may be boring to him or to viewers..he needs to just go in there, shoot for the legs…take a guy down and beat him or submit him…he could have beat alves if he did that….but as in me saying this..i did not see the fight nor heard much about it, so i dont know if he tried to take him down or not….im just going off of what he did with GSP…
people need to quit knockin on lesnar, he is going to be a great fighter with experience. now i know the ufc has exploited his fame in the wwe but that should not discredit him at all, he has the best take down in the ufc, next to maybe gsp, and he is one of the strongest fighters out there. with more experience he will be great. but one of the things im kinda upset about are some of the rankings out there in the light hw division and i wanted to take this site to put that out there. fcf.com has the lhw rankings all messed up in my oppinion and i was wonderin if anyone has the same views
he did try to take him down that was the first thing he did and he couldn’t do it, alves was just to big an strong
Jason-
I don’t know if we were watching the same Hughes Alves fight, but from what I saw and JOHNBOY said, the first thing Hughes did in the fight was to shoot. That seemed like his only strategy the entire fight… it looked like he was trying to stand up for a little bit but kept going to his best weapon as a wrestler- shooting in and taking the other guy down… I don’t know if Alves just had a really good takedown defense or Hughes is losing his quickness, but it almost looked like half a** single leg takedowns… but that may just be me
Both Brock and Kimbo both have great up sides if they can evolve as fighters and get alot better that the things they aren’t good at yet. Brock definitely has advantage, 1) because he’s younger and has more time to grow in the sport. 2) because he is already a master wrestler and even if he never developed a stand up or submission game, that will take him far in this far alone because most fights are won by the person you is more dominate in wrestling than the other. Well, I guess he at least needs to get well versed at exscaping submission as it should with Kir. He so big and so strong, that I don’t know if anyone can stop his take downs. Kimbo can stand and trade with anybody, but his marjine for error is alot less than Brocks, so really has to work on getting better at the other aspect of the game as quickly as possible to go as far as he wants to go.
NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT I THINK THAT WOULD BE ONE BAD ASS FIGHT. BROCK VS BIMBO… THAT COULD BE A FIGHT OF THE YEAR.. DON’T YOU GUYS THINK. I WISH THAT ONE COULD BE MADE.
Matt – I said I didnt see the fight..I just heard that he tried to stand up a bit with him… so I couldnt say anything about the Hughes fight with Alves….I will admit that I had no desire to spend $45 on that fight….Id rather just come on here and read what happened…and its rare that I dont get a PPV…I usually get every single one.. but yea..this one…I could sleep at night without seeing it!
Tito has only really lost to Liddel recently and Machida you can say ran from him for 3 rounds, so it’s tough to base that fight on how his skills are. He’s not done yet, he can still beat a lot of guys.
Hopefully Tito comes back to the UFC , but I doubt itcause of Dana
Spud,
I sort of agree. Tito can beat a lot of guys. He just has no place in the UFC where the majority of talent is better. Tito is out of his prime and is a draw for his personality not fighting skills. Tito cannot even be a gatekeeper in the UFC LHW division. All other promoters should be weary in signing Tito after looking at his insult of a t-shirt(Dana is my b!tch) at the weigh ins. Viewing the situation like a realist, Tito’s the b!tch because he is no longer in the top MMA promotion in the world. Is Tito a money maker? Yes, he has a personality people love or hate. Risk in signing him? Yes! When you get a new job you should not thrash your ex employer and Tito did that publicly. In additon, his skills are dimishing. What’s to say he does not get more itchy sand in his vagina and pull the same cry baby act with another promoter. I’ll stick to my opinion that Tito wants to be bigger than the sport. Moving to another promotion my make him more money but he is still moving down the ladder in the world of MMA. It’s all about the money though……it’ll ruin the sport.
Tito Ortiz should consider moving over to Dream.
Dream is a great mma org and would help him more then any usa production at this point, yes his skills are wearing down because of his back and neck problems from his past, his take downs are slower and wrestling is a little more weaker then when he was 28 but being 15 and 6 is still not to bad, hes just not winning anything lately 2 losses and 1 draw but if he went to Dream or the he would fall into a talent pool of fresh fighters for him to take on. Dream is going to where pride was in 2 years. it would not be a bad choice
M3,
I don’t will consider Dream, because they mostly fight over seas. He wants to be a house hold name or more importantly, a FACE of an organization in the US. That’s why I think he will sign with one of the with either Affliction or EliteXC.
….or he may sign with Mark Cuban and fight for his new promotion he’s trying to get going on HDNET.
As far as Im concerned they can have him…Im not a fan of elitexc or Tito Ortiz..Im not denying he had some good fights in the UFC; I just dont like him
i want Tito to stay with UFC but i doubt Dana will get him to sign another contract, Affliction look like they have the money to scoop him up
Affliction could pick up anyone they want (thats out of contract) with the financial backing they have.
I’m thinking that Affliction is the one to watch. Even over EliteXC or maybe WEC…
Although they are starting strong, will they be able to secure the more exciting fighters moving forward.
I was actually impressed with Tito after watching him on Celebrity Apprentice. He was nice, respectful and Donald Trump is getting into MMA because of how well Tito acted on the show.
I was also impressed with Tito’s final speech in the Octagon. I was expecting some possible trash talking but he was very respectful to the UFC and to Dana White.
Tito needs to get his confidence back and add more dimensions to his fighting. I hope he can rack up a few wins and get back on the winning trail. He’s gotten a raw deal at times and his mouth has gotten him into more trouble than i’m sure he cares to think about.
However, Affliction should be the one to pick him up with Donald Trump’s help.
Tito is a smart self promoter and damn good fighter. I hope he fights Kimbo and kicks his arse for a lot of $$$
I would love to see Tito kick Kimbos a$$. i would pay to see that fight
tito sucks, he should go to the WWE. i could see him as the next kurt angle where everyone chants “A**HOLE, A**HOLE”