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tito likes to be in the mix of things
By CARLOS ARIAS
The Orange County Register
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz finds himself right in the middle of things in the UFC’s 205-pound division.
That’s right where “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” likes to be.
Ortiz was in the Octagon moments after UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell scored another dominant first-round TKO over Renato “Babalu” Sobral last weekend at UFC 61 in Las Vegas.
UFC president had already announced that Ortiz would face his arch-rival Ken Shamrock in a rubber match at “UFC Fight Night 7” on Spike TV on Oct. 10. White announced that Ortiz would face Liddell for the title on Dec. 30 if he is victorious against Shamrock.
“ Getting back my world title is the biggest thing in my life, right now,” Ortiz said. “Getting back on top, and to do that I have to get past Liddell.
First, Ortiz has to take care of business against Shamrock. Ortiz scored a third-round TKO over Shamrock in their first fight at UFC 40 in 2002. He won the rematch at UFC 61 on July 8. Ortiz got a big takedown, then landed five consecutive elbows to the head that led referee Herb Dean to stop the fight at 1:18 of the first round. Many in the crowd believed it was a quick stoppage and pelted the ring with debris.
“ I have to get past Shamrock one more time,” Ortiz said. “That fight will be on Spike TV and it’s pretty much for the fans. I could have waited out until December and got my world title. All of those fans that were booing (at UFC 61) because they weren’t satisfied, they are going to get it again. It’s too bad it’s at the expense of Ken Shamrock’s health.”
Ortiz believes he has already proven his point against Shamrock.
“ This is to shut up his fans and make my fans happy because they thought it ended too quick last time,” Ortiz said. “It’s one of those things. I’m all about the fans and that’s why it’s free on Spike TV.”
Ortiz wasn’t overly impressed by Liddell’s first-round TKO over Sobral at UFC 62 last weekend.
“ He looked just like a normal Chuck Liddell,” Ortiz said. “Renato Babalu is not really as good as they try to make him to be. They kind of painted the picture more of what they think. I think that was a typical fight for Liddell. That fight will go the same way each and every time. The first time went 2 minutes and 30 seconds and this one went 1 minute. Renato Babalu is not really that great a fighter. He’s a great ‘B’ fighter and an average ‘A’ fighter. He’s not at the level of (Randy) Couture or Liddell or myself.”
Liddell scored a second-round KO over Ortiz in their first meeting at UFC 47 in 2004.
“ I think in this rematch more than anything it will be a similar type of tempo I had before,” Ortiz said. “I just made a mistake and I got poked in the eye. I just gotta make sure I use a lot more head movement, securing a takedown will be necessary. I’m hoping for a really tough fight. I just want my world title back and for me to do that I have to beat Liddell.”
Ortiz believes his stand-up game is much better since the first time he faced Liddell.
“ I think I’m a lot better (with the stand-up),” Ortiz said. “You know, you’ve been up to camp with me a few times. You’ve seen my hands get a lot faster. I think I’ll surprise him with a lot of things with my stand-up. But when he thinks I’m going to stand-up, the takedown is there.”
TUF 3 middleweight winner Kendall Grove, TUF 3 alum Matt Hamill and TUF 2 veteran Josh Burkman are all full-fledged members of Ortiz’s Team Punishment. They will train with him in Big Bear and prepare for fights on the Ortiz-Shamrock undercard on Oct. 10.
“ Hamill is coming out here next week,” Ortiz said. “Kendall is already training up in Big Bear. I’m going up there on Monday. I can’t wait. It’s going to pretty much be Team Punishment against the world.”
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