Five Reasons Tito Ortiz Should Go To Elite Extreme

Tito Ortiz is an enigma. He is that rare breed of fighter that evokes a wide range of emotions from fans. Some love him, some hate him, but none can deny that he knows how to hype fights. Not only is his trash talking first rate, he always seems to know how to get under his opponent's skin.

Since the early days of the UFC, when Tito was a brash, up and coming fighter who took on the established fighters such as Frank Shamrock, and Guy Metzger, Tito was impossible not to watch fight. He learned that controversy sells fights, as well as a good image. He started dying his hair blond and broke out the flaming shorts, and starting calling himself the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy".

He tore through the light heavyweight ranks, reeling off a string of wins through the early part of this decade. That lead to the title, one which he defended five times before losing to Randy Couture.

Since losing the title, his career has been up and down, as he has several wins sandwiched in between losses to Chuck Liddell. At UFC 84, Tito fights the last fight of his UFC contract, and has stated that he will not return to the UFC.

Here are the five reasons Tito should sign with Elite Extreme.

1) MONEY

Tito's main problem with resigning to the UFC stems from Dana White stating that at this point in his career, and with his recent in octagon record, he is worth no more than he is currently earning. A look at NSAC disclosure of fighter payrolls puts that at around $200-$250k per fight, not including bonuses or PPV-buy percentages, which are not a part of the disclosed figures. A look at the top fighters in Elite Extreme show that Frank Shamrock and Kimbo Slice have both earned similiar figures over recent fights, and could afford to back the money truck up for Tito.

2) HE CAN BE CHAMP

Elite Extreme currently has no 205-pound division, although they have co-promotion deals with other organizations, and have numerous fighters  that could move up from middleweight to fight Tito. With the addition of Tito, Elite Extreme could simply create a light-heavyweight division, and find fights for Tito and, eventually make one of them for their newly created title. Fights with Robbie Lawler, Frank Shamrock moving up to 205, and even Kimbo Slice at heavyweight, are intriguing matchups for Tito.

3) HE WILL GET PUSHED

If nothing else, Elite Extreme pushes their stars. They do behind the scene specials on Showtime, similar to the countdown specials HBO does for their boxing matchups. They now have a deal with CBS to air live events. They have several events in San Jose, home to Cung Le and Frank Shamrock, and they have done events in Miami, home to Kimbo Slice. With Tito being such a known commodity, his fight buildups could be huge.

4)HE MAY NOT LOSE

We have all seen that Elite Extreme is more than willing to build fighters up. Kimbo Slice has yet to fight anyone who remotely has a chance to beat him. Say Tito signed a five-fight deal with Elite Extreme. The first two fights would probably be against no hopefuls, to get fans excited about Tito as he dominates some bums leading to a showdown with Frank Shamrock next year. Tito is likely to win such a matchup if it took place at 205, as he dominated their first matchup way back in the early days of the UFC, until running out of gas late in the fight.

Another fight against a middleweight moving up, and Tito could finish up with a showdown with Kimbo Slice at Heavyweight. Tito would have to be a favorite, if not even money, as he has only lost to the best of the best in MMA, and no one knows if Kimbo Slice is even a decent MMA fighter as of yet.

5) ITS A CHANCE TO SCREW THE UFC AND DANA WHITE OVER

This may be a bigger reason than the money. Tito and his former manager have become so heated in recent years, that they went as far as scheduling a fight that didnt take place due to issues over compensation. Tito hates Dana and Dana hates Tito.

Dana often refers to Tito as "idiot" and has said that Tito is "a big ugly gorilla". Tito feels that he carried the organization when they were small and almost bankrupt, and feels that they dont give him the respect and push of other career UFC fighters such as Franklin, Hughes, and Liddell. Signing with Elite Extreme and regaining his winning and PPV record-breaking ways would be the ultimate "screw you" to the UFC. 

Let's just hope this move actually gets made, so the drama can ensue. In the end, the move should be good for all MMA fans, as a legend in the game could get the proper motivation to show us all what made him a legend in the first place.