Tito Ortiz: "I Won't Take This Fight with Chuck If I'm Not Ready for It"

After losing a close split-decision in his rematch to Forrest Griffin in November at UFC 106, Tito Ortiz blamed a series of severe injuries on his uneventful performance.

Considering Ortiz spent months hyping his return and claiming to be rejuvenated due to a recent back surgery, fans were outraged at his post-fight comments.

Ortiz' remarks may seem like excuses to some, but the reality is that Ortiz probably should have pulled out of his fight with Griffin. If the injuries were as serious as he is claiming then he should have backed out; instead, he chose to man-up and fight.

An 18-month layoff made "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" very eager to step back into "The Octagon" and, along with the fact that the original main event between heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin was called off due to Lesnar's illness, there was no way Ortiz was backing out at the last minute.

The former light heavyweight champion owed it to his loyal fans and to the UFC to step up and put on a show against the original Ultimate Fighter winner.

However, Ortiz realizes that it was a mistake to go through with that fight despite his medical condition. Ortiz doesn't plan on making the same mistake again and will have no hesitation pulling out of his third fight with UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell if the injuries are still occurring.

"I know I won't take this fight if I'm not ready for it," Ortiz said in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. "I guarantee that. I'm not going to do that again. I've done a lot of favors for the UFC, and I shouldn't have fought that fight (with Griffin). I shouldn't have, but I did. I'm not going to let my fans down again."

Leading up to his November bout with Griffin, Ortiz claimed he would run through Griffin with the explosiveness of a tiger. He cited his recent back surgery as the best thing that he has ever done for his career. Several MMA enthusiasts expected a quicker, stronger version of Ortiz in his UFC return.

The injury reports after the fight came to the surprise and the dismay of fans everywhere, but it wasn't his back that was the problem—it was his head.

"I have no more back problems, but other things started coming about," Ortiz said. "The first week of training (for UFC 106), I got bounced on my head. I had C6 and C7 discs pressing on my spinal cord. I shouldn't have fought. But when you take 18 months off and bills have to be paid? I'll suck it up."

In fact, the injury was so severe that Ortiz claimed to have suffered severe memory loss before and after the event.

"Two weeks before the fight, I was wrestling with one of my partners, and we collided heads. I fractured my orbital bone. I don't remember the weigh-ins. I don't remember the fight. All I remember was the beginning of the third round.

"I remember thinking in my head, 'Don't get taken down, and don't get knocked down, and you win the fight.' That's all I remember. I don't remember the press conference afterward. I don't remember any of it at all. I had a concussion from the fractured orbital bone."

If healthy, Ortiz will square off with Liddell after the two coached opposite each other on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV.

Liddell's recent performances have been rather uninspiring as well considering he has lost four of his past five bouts, but Ortiz is preparing for the best version of "The Iceman" and isn't expecting an easy fight by any means.

"Now that I've seen [Liddell], he looks in great shape," Ortiz said. "His sense of awareness is there, more than ever. Maybe he'll re-define himself. Look at Randy (Couture). He's 46 and still competing. Look at (Mark) Coleman. He's still competing. I think Chuck shouldn't have a problem at all competing.

"I think [Liddell] looked at his last losses, the mistakes that he did, and maybe he didn't get ready for the fight as he should have."

And while Ortiz has no problem pulling out of the fight if his body isn't feeling up to it, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is already starting to feel better and should be ready to fight to the best of his ability in six months time.

"I have six months," Ortiz said. "It's already been two. My neck is better. My eye is getting better slowly but surely. You can still see darkness, but everything will pan out. Everything always does."

This article was originally featured on fiveknuckles.com