Dana and Tito – The War is Over???
Not to sound like some kind of internet stalker, but according to twitter accounts of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC President Dana White, the two have made amends. Tito claims that he expects to be back in the octagon very soon (a prediction Mike Sawyer made well over a year ago after Tito’s last match with Lyoto Machida).
Ortiz had been telling the media that he was negotiating with other MMA groups such as Affliction and Strikeforce, going so far as to say that fighting for Strikeforce was a guarantee. Now it looks like we will probably see Ortiz on a UFC PPV before the end of 2009.
Tito and Dana have had a less-than-friendly relationship with each other, often publicly insulting each other but almost always making up. This “feud” was highlighted on an often-forgotten Spike TV UFC special called “Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White: Bad Blood”, where a special exhibition boxing fight was built up for the duration of the special, telling the story of how the feud started, why they hated each other so much, and Dana’s preparation to fight a former world champion. As for the actual fight – Tito no-showed. It was a lose-lose situation for him.
This however, is a win-win for the UFC, Tito, AND the fans. It’s just another major star UFC can add to their roster. Question is, who will Tito fight in his return? The 205 lb division is STACKED with talent, but I guess this will be a wait and see type situation.
The rumor going around is Tito will face off against Ace Franklin at UFC 103.
Which is a good fight for Franklin. He took the 195 catchweight fight against Silva and won now keeps moving up to 205 where he can get a good first battle against Ortiz.
I like seeing Tito back and I’ve learned a valuable lesson that G.G. has explained to me numerous times: take anything Dana White says with a grain of salt. Because if its profitable, he will renege on any statement.
But if these two hug it out in the middle of the Octagon…
I think it’s probably a little premature to say that it looks like he’ll be in the UFC. He could be playing Dana against Strikeforce. I’d love to just see him do something again and quit talking. If he has the goods, I’d rather see him fight.