Former UFC light heavyweight Champion Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz was a guest on HDNet’s “Inside MMA” this past Friday to discuss his future in the fight game.
There were reports a week or so ago that placed Ortiz as the newest addition to the Affliction MMA roster. Apparently those reports were a little premature because Tito’s asking price was a little too high for the t-shirt company-turned MMA promotion.
So where does that leave perhaps one of the biggest draws in the history of the sport?
Well, he’s still a free agent … for now.
Ortiz — ever the business man — played the fence on where he could land, listing almost every organization as a possible destination — even the UFC.
Here’s a snip:
“EliteXC — possibility. Affliction — possibility. UFC — a small chance of that happening. The things between me and Dana White, I’m shoving it off and moving on with my life.”
So after all the back-and-forth, is it possible we haven’t seen the last of Ortiz inside the Octagon after all?
It’s obvious at this point in Tito’s career that he’s trying to get one last big pay day. It’s like a 28-year-old NFL running back trying to cash in one more time before hitting the dreaded 30.
We know he can’t compete at the same level as he used to — at least not at the same level as his title holding days — but he’s still extremely marketable and could possibly be a great asset for up and coming organizations like Elite XC or Affliction.
It still feels like a long shot that Ortiz will make his way back to the UFC, but at this point anything is possible. If you ask me, it’s just another play by Ortiz to get more attention or money from the other companies out there vying for his services.
Either way, we haven’t seen any ground breaking contracts yet. He’s been a free agent for more than three months now and the only person we’ve really heard anything from involving a contract or a destination is Tito himself.
At some point he’s either going to have to bite the bullet and take less money than he’s expecting or he’s going to have to just announce his retirement. It appears that he burned too many bridges with the UFC and the other companies just don’t have the resources to give in to his high price demands.
His marketability can only get him so far and it can only last so long.
What’s going to happen if he signs with Elite XC — is the promotion going to have to hand-pick his opponents like it does with Kimbo so he doesn’t lose? And what happens if he signs with Affliction — is he going to be worth the money it will have to pay him if he can’t beat guys like Babalu and Nogueria?
And we all know how the UFC feels about him and his (0-2-1) record over the last two years.
In short, reality is down here Tito … come down and join the rest of us.
57 Comments »
Wherever he goes, I hope he loses.
Good Luck Tito, and I am still looking for Sasquatch! Give me a freakin Break!
apparently all tito really cares about is money, and he doesnt seem very ashamed of it… what a disgrace
He keeps looking like more of a douche everytime he opens his mouth. He’ll spit has a mouthful of empty if he is givin the opportunity. His head matches his chin. The once repected champion is now the laughing stalk of mma, and it’s not anyone elses fault but his. Nothing good can come from a person who’s ego outshines the sun.
Boy, I screwed up on that last comment, “He’ll spit a mouthful of empty words every givin opportunity.” is what I was trying to type.
Did’nt u hear?… they found Bigfoot and froze him! It turned out to be a rubber Tito Mask and possum hair.
I just read Tito’s book, he’s sooo insecure that he has to over compensate by constantly saying he’s the best. I kinda’ like Tito but I agree with White. He’s not a fighter at heart, he’s not very smart, just at the right place & right time, he just wants to be rich n’ famous… Tito’s glory days are over… he should just accept what he can get before his marque value diminishes even further.
Let’s be fair here, he’s made a decent clothing company that’s improving all the time. It’s his fighting and attitude that grate on people.
So a smart business man, but not necessarily a smart person.
There are people who own and wear Punishment clothing?
Jas, I don’t think Tito’s ‘that’ smart a businessman, just right place right time, right motivation, ambitious. He started a good business for a market that was sorely lacking in MMA apparrel, 1st few guys in grew with the market. If the MMA market failed, I think Tito would be doing construction, maybe on the off chance got a college degree and possibly a successful employee somewhere or wrestling coach. I’ve followed his career, watched/read his interviews, watched him on the apprentice, read his book… and the above is my conclusion, I think that is being fair.
Dana White & the Fertetta’s on the other hand,,, now there’s smart businessmen.
It kills me that people like Tito, who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, are making more money than most of us. lol, he must be doing something right though.
personally I think Tito is an idiot. He has just been given opportunity!
well if affliction is willing to pay tim sylvia 800,000 dollars i dont see why they wont pay ortiz big money ortiz is a lot more popular and a more exciting fighter, also like ortiz tim has not beat anybody good recently either he beat a undersized brandon vera who had a broken hand and thats it, if sylvia is worth 800,000 then i think tito should expect 1.5 mill atleast from affliction
I guess he should better sign with Affliction, where the big bucks are. That’s what’s important nowadays anyway, right. No money, not good!
I’m pretty sure they realized how big of a mistake that was.
I’m really anxious to see which organization Tito chooses to continue his losing streak in. Oh, the suspense!
Dean Lister: I’ve come to Zagreb to teach Crocop how to defend Overeem’s gulliotine
Dean Lister: Do¹ao sam u Zagreb nauèiti Cro Copa kako se obraniti od Overeemove “giljotine” - Sport - Index.hr
Here’s a translation of the interview by yours truly.
What’s the purpose of your stay here in Zagreb?
I came to Zagreb to help Mirko prepare for the Overeem fight and I also have some my own friends here. Among other things I’m teaching him how to defend himself from Overeem’s guillotine. This is my second time here and I will stay here for two weeks.
How well isMirko’s training going ?
He’s doing fine. Mirko is ready, serious and I think he’ll beat Overeem. The elbow and the knee injuries have prevented him from training at full intensity but he’s allright now.
Mentally he is where he is suppose to be and that’s the most important.
Did you come here to learn from Filipovic as well?
Of course I’m also learning some things from him as well We have with us his sparing partners Igor and Sasa, so we have a good team. We train hard every day. Three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon both in standing up and on the ground. Mirko lives on a hill so we have climb the hill with our bikes every day which makes it even harder.
Do you plan on continuing this cooperation with Mirko in the future?
After his fight with Overeem Mirko plans to visit me in San Diego. We’ll stay in touch. Here in Croatia I can completely focus on training because people don’t know who I am here.
You won your last fight against Jeremy Horn, a respected name in the octagon?
Jeremy is a good opponent. The first time we fought I was very inexperienced and got cut at the start of the fight and I couldn’t see much. I lost by decision. But this time I surprised him and finished him with a choke in the first round.
When do you expect to fight next?
I don’t know probably 3 months from now. I have to stay in good shape and be prepared. I don’t know who my next opponent is but I’m sure if I win my next two fights I will get a title shot.
You fought both in Pride and the UFC How much of a difference is there?
I loved the japanese fans. They know the fighters well and they understand the tehniques.
But on a personal level I had problems with their management. All things considered I was happy in Pride. I have a good score in the UFC right now and I can’t say there’s a huge difference. I love the ring and the cage.
Mirko probably doesn’t think like that. He hasn’t adapted to the cage…
Mirko hasn’t succedeed because of two things. Once you hit the ground there’s no help. Your head will not get stuck between the ropes and then that’s a different game. The movement on the ground is different and Mirko has fought in the ring his entire career. And second Mirko didn’t feel at home in America. He loves to fight in Japan and that’s normal. When you head isn’t in the right place problems occur.
However Mirko has said he plans to return to the cage?
Mirko can come back, no problem. He trains in the cage a lot now and he is in the right state of mind again. He’s a very talented fighter who still has a lot to offer. I’m sure he’s going to make a come back. Everybody knows Right kick hospital, left kick cemetery.
Is it better to be a stand up fighter or a grappler?
Depends on the person. The most important is to have a strategy that is effective. To be a complete fighter you must be good at everything but it’s also important to have a speciality.
Have you learned any croatian?
If you spend more than a week in a foreign country it’s good to learn a couple of words. I think that’s important because you show respect in that manner. I’m interested in learning croatian and I’ve already picked up a few words: I can order food and drinks and that’s sufficient.
John?? What the hell does this have to do with Tito Ortiz??? I think you and you’re buddy phil should just go start your own mma blog.
yay go mirko! dont see him having too much of a problem with overeem… dean lister is a long way from home! lol that guy woke up some sunday morning a few weeks ago in my buddys condo on his couch neither my buddy nor lister had any idea how he got there, lol… at least hes training now!
Thought this was a Tito Ortiz discussion. What happened to putting a stop to hijacking post?
Tito=MMA, CroCop=MMA, Dean Lister=MMA…..It’s all good to me, hehe!
MMAMania told me they were not allowing people to talk off subject any more.
Ok, my bad if that’s the new policy. I guess you should blame the moderator in this one. Hope it isn’t Jesse, lol!!
they told you this Gary? why, you so insecure because some of us get other info. do you really want to just talk about titp? there would be 3 commens
I’m not a Tito Fan but I say he beats anyone Elitexc has at 205.
They don’t have anyone at 205.
Almost no other orgs have any 205’s that are decent.
Babalu is like the only decent non-ufc 205 and he’s only around because he got kicked out of the ufc, and he wasn’t even top 10.
If Tito wants to compete and isn’t just looking for a inflated pay checque, he better suck it up and get back to the UFC
lil nog is pretty good at 205
Right. I don’t have Tito beating Rogerio Nogueira at 205. Minotoro has much better standup, submissions and chin.
Tito is trying to do the right thing.. but there’s no money in MMA so i think that he should retire and do other stuff without risking his health anymore..
No money in MMA? I believe these guys are making more than the average WWE fighter. I may be wrong though, I really am just assuming based on the paychecks the UFC and Affliction pays the fighters after every event.
well, WWE is nothing.. he is smart and should be able to make more money outside of the fighting business!
He was making like a quarter million a fight to lose.
If that’s not real ‘money’ than idk where he’s gonna find ‘real money’.
He isnt going to sign a record breaking worth millions, he is a business man not a fighter anymore. I hope no one is stupid enough to sign him to a long term contract worth millions, because he isnt worth it.
I love to see him getting beat up.. thiago silva vs tito would be sweet..
I 2nd that…
oh brother….enough of this Tito !#@**! and lets stop calling him a businessman shall we? being on the Trump show and having a wife with porno business doesn’t make him a business person…I just feel sorry for him now
Ha! Tito is a businessman just like those people who try to recruit others in pyramid schemes think they are business people
IMO Dana should bring him back. Tito is still a good draw and surely they could come to an agreement. Dana just don’t need to let his personel feelings stand in the way.
I’m sure he would if Tito didn’t suck.
It’s funny how people turn their back on fighters when they lose a fight or two. If Machido would have fought and not ran for 15 min. might have been a different fight. I know alot of guys like Machida but another fighter did the same thing and everyone called him a punk.
I agree that Machida ran in there fight and is a punk,but Tito hasn’t won a fight since like 2006,and it was Ken (I shoulda retired 10 years ago)Shamrock.But dont get me wrong I use,and kinda still like Tito.But facts are facts.
Loss to Chuck who is a good fighter. Draw to lay and snooze Rashaad. Decision to run for my life Lyoto. Can’t really hold that against a guy who helped rebuild the UFC.
come on now… “run for my life Lyoto”? thats ridiculous, just because your backwards ass doesn’t understand the skill hes been demonstrating doesn’t mean hes running. starnes ran, machida beat some ass and he did it gracefully. tito probably cant even spell graceful…
Hey Gary, its not that because He loses a fight or 2, its because he asks for too much money and he isn’t worth that much money because he isn’t as good as he use to be.
Medicine I understand peoples skills and gameplans and if I was the only person who thought that about Machida then maybe you can call me that. I watched that fight 3 times and recall seeing Tito in the middle of the octagon begging Machida to fight.
Gary: i apologize for that comment. BUT i completely disagree with machida not fighting. you dont win a fight if you arent fighting right? hes undefeated. to me thats facts
Like him or hate him hes a draw whether hes winning or losing in my opinion!!! You dont always have to be the best to be a fans favirout or sometimes in tito’s case the “boo” fighter. However he is still enjoyable and has ability at the top level, not quite good enough to win titles, but definately to compete and put bums on seats!
im a liddell man through and through, however tito has that draw, the exciting aura about him that I love to watch, even if it is just his entrance to the octagon which always looks great!! Lets face it if Mike Tyson returned to the boxing ring, most of us would buy the ppv just because its Tyson, and because hes the best in the world anymore (no ear jokes please!) tito is kinda the same, not at the top but fun to watch!!!!
hes not a draw anymore dude….
Yea, he is a draw. My wifee’s friend (new fan) recognized Tito on Unleashed as “the guy going with Jenna Jameson”. lol. She said the Jenna’s “past her prime” and she thinks Tito is cute and exciting. She also made a comment about Rashad’s glutious maximus as Rogan pointed out his badonkadonk! LOL!! Any card with Chuck or Tito on it, is a potential “invite people over night”.
“and (NOT) because hes the best……” sorry folks
Comment by Gary
2008-09-01 18:50:43
IMO Dana should bring him back. Tito is still a good draw and surely they could come to an agreement. Dana just don’t need to let his personel feelings stand in the way
thats not true they do not need him he would just lose overe and over again. the light heavyweight devision is the best in the world they dont need him.
I would like Tito to come back to the ufc and take on Wanderlei , just so wandy can send him out…
HAHAHA! Tito would beat Wanderlei easily.. he would take him down and elbow his face into a bloody mess.. the thing with Tito losing fights really shouldn’t matter if u look at who he’s fought.. and to be real if he’s not a top fighter like you are saying then why was he fighting Liddell, Evans (that he won over), Machida, and Griffin? because Dana wanted him to lose! and the funny part is that Chuck has fought Jardine, Wanderlei and now Evans lol Tito should have fought them too i guarantee that Tito would take all of them or atleast get 2 wins..
No way he beats Wandy. NO WAY…
Go ahead and hate on his life but you can’t say Tito sucks! He beat Rashad and Forrest! He never lost to anybody weak!
I like the wand rematch OR….
Tito vs. Shogun !!!
Shirley, you jest.
I think Tito should hold out. He’s got a baby mama to support now. I really don’t care if I see him again. I don’t really hate him…Don’t really like him. I’m indifferent I guess, but he has to realize nobody’s going to pay him. Maybe he’s using this as a way to avoid fighting? Ask for more than anyone will pay…
Tito has already held out for too long. The longer he waits the more fans (and any promotion) will be used to not having him around. Frankly I don’t really care if he ever fights again. There is so much 205 talent around, he won’t really be missed. He should be happy with a TUF winner contract at this point in his career. He’s asking price must be way to high.
I think the only place tito should go is to affliction. if he wants to go to elite xc and fight lesser competition then he can do it. but he needs to stop saying hes only here to fight the best.