The return of former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz suffered a setback. Ortiz’s opponent, former champion Mark Coleman has pulled out of their UFC 106 match. Coleman reportedly suffered an MCL tear or as Ortiz said on Twitter, “sissie[d] out.”
In my opinion, this is a blessing in disguise. This fight had boring written all over it. Even with the win over Stephan Bonner, I still can’t take Mark Coleman seriously. Both of these guys have great wrestling acumen which would have likely resulted in a boring, grinding, ground war. Styles make matchups and the styles of Ortiz and Coleman didn’t make this an intriguing matchup in the least.
[adinserter block=”1″]The UFC and Ortiz have a few potential options right off of the bat at light heavyweight. Keith Jardine or Jon Jones are names that immediately come to mind. Not that either man would be easy, but they would probably be the easiest competition available for Ortiz. A juicier match would be a rematch with Wanderlei Silva. Rich Franklin is another intriguing match at light or catch weight. Depending upon how serious Tito wishes to be tested, there are several names available, all of which are more appealing than Coleman.
The money match would be a rematch with Forrest Griffin. Ortiz beat Griffin via split decision over three years ago. To this day, the result is still a controversial decision. Most MMA fans believe that Griffin won the fight and was robbed. The money is in this match, yet I don’t think it would be wise to throw Tito in with Griffin on his first match back. Tito needs a big win to be taken seriously by the MMA community and the UFC fans. After all, it was UFC president Dana White that has been saying for three years how Ortiz is overrated.
UFC could pull a bait and switch and throw Randy Couture into this match. Couture is scheduled to fight Brandon Vera at UFC 105. UFC has changed two big matches in the last few months due to a variety of reasons. A Couture-Ortiz match would be huge. It is the perfect match for either fighter to take. I don’t know how impressive a win by Ortiz would be over Couture at this stage of the game, but he would have a hell of a shot with the Natural. Taking into consideration that Spike TV is televising UFC 105, I doubt that UFC would switch the match. However, it is not entirely out of the question looking at similar business decisions that UFC have made in the last few months.
[adinserter block=”2″]So the ball is really in Tito Ortiz’s court. He can take a safe match with someone like Jardine, Silva, or even Stephan Bonner. Granted, nothing is ever a given in MMA but Ortiz would be heavily favored in any one of those matches. At the same time, Tito has a chance to up the ante and take his return to a whole different level. I guess it comes down to whether Tito Ortiz sissie[s] out or not.
Thanks to MMAFanhouse.com for the tip!
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