Bleacher Report - Tito Ortiz

Forrest Griffin Vs. Tito Ortiz 3: The Unnecessary Rubber Match

Darren Wong — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:05:38 -0500

Following the entertaining rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, talk quickly turned toward a rubber match between the two marketable stars.

I'm sure that there are a ton of fans out there who want to see this trilogy completed, but I'm just not one of them.

To be fair, there are plenty of good things about this potential match. "The score" is currently tied at one win apiece, so a third match would open the door for a more decisive finish.

In addition to that, there has also been some talk about making Tito and Forrest the new coaches for TUF 11. Tito and Forrest both do well on television, so this would probably be good for ratings.

Furthermore, by putting these two fighters on a TUF season, the UFC doesn't need to hold a title belt hostage for an extended period of time like it has done in the past.

Despite the possible benefits, I remain fairly unexcited about the possibilities.

That's because I feel like I've already seen the third fight.

With some dynamic fighters, you get the sense that anything could happen. For example, Georges St. Pierre's three fights with Matt Hughes all had very different feels to them, as Georges had evolved as a fighter.

Another good reason for a rematch is when something crazy happens in the first match that warrants a redo. Examples of this include Matt Serra's shocking win over GSP, or Anthony Johnson's loss to Kevin Burns due to an eye-poke.

I don't get these kind of things with Tito and Forrest.

Although it would be unfair to criticize them both as not being dynamic, I feel that at the present time we've gotten a pretty good idea about what to expect from Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz.

Tito might be able to make some small adjustments in his standup, but he simply isn't going to be able to handle Forrest on the feet, while Forrest is probably still going to spend some time on his back, unless Tito comes in even less healthy than before.

The resulting fight thus becomes fairly predictable. The fight will probably be very close, and the only real variable is in how many takedowns Tito can manage before he gasses.

The question then becomes one concerning Tito's health and fitness. If he does come to the fight in better shape, he'll probably get another takedown, and then the fight will be close, and the whole rubber match won't have resolved anything.

If, on the other hand, Tito isn't in any better shape, then the only thing that the fight will prove is that Tito is no longer able to compete physically over three rounds.

Either way, don't expect Tito to show his hand prior to the fight. Expect him to sell the fight and tell the media that he's finally in the best shape of his life, and that he's ready to show the world that he wants his belt back.

At this point in time, I simply cannot believe that Tito is ever going to get better physically, so it's time to stop of putting him in rematches that he says he could have won if he was healthy.

Instead, let's just put him in some matches where fewer aspects of the fight are completely predictable.

Another thing to consider is that this third fight is essentially irrelevant in relation to the light-heavyweight title picture. We've already got one fairly irrelevant matchup between Couture and Coleman, so right now, I don't think we need another.

Neither Forrest nor Tito currently deserves a title shot, and a win here won't bring anybody much closer.

Making this fight could actually be seen as an admission that Forrest's and Tito's title contention days are over.

Even if we were to admit that neither fighter is close to another title shot, however, there are still more interesting ways in which these fighters could be used.

That being said, let me offer my take on the future of both fighters.

Forrest Griffin

There are a lot of fights waiting ahead of Forrest Griffin, but unfortunately, very few of them can happen right away.

Rematches with Quinton Jackson, Mauricio Rua, and Rashad Evans are all interesting possibilities for the future, but all of these fighters are currently unavailable.

However, a possible immediate opponent could emerge from the Evans vs. Thiago Silva fight.

A fight with Brandon Vera would be an interesting one, while a fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira would give Forrest the opportunity to move closer to title contention. Either one of these fights is at least less predictable than a third encounter with Tito.

Perhaps the most marketable matchup for Forrest is against Chuck Liddell, who is inevitably going to be returning now that he's finished his run on Dancing With The Stars.

This matchup won't bring Forrest much closer to the title, and is actually a very dangerous one, but at least it brings a new look, and some excitement.

Tito Ortiz

At this point, we can simply no longer believe Tito when he says that he's finally healthy, so instead of believing him, I'd rather just see him in some new fights.

Tito would provide a good challenge for up-and-coming fighters who could use a win over a recognizable opponent.

The winner of the fight between Jon Jones and Matt Hamill seems like a good fight to build either fighter. Ryan Bader also seems like an attractive option.

Tito might have a hard time with some of the other contenders within the division, but once again, at least he could provide a new challenge and a new look for guys like Luiz Cane, Nogueira, Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, and others.

In Conclusion

I'm not saying that Tito and Forrest should never fight each other again. There are people out there that want to see this fight, but let's let Tito have another fight to prove that he really still can fight for 15 minutes. If he wins, then maybe let him fight Forrest again.

If they fight right now, it will probably mean that the winner won't have fought anybody relevant to the title picture in over a year.

The fight will end up being like Hughes vs. Serra at UFC 98: a fight that settled nothing, and left both fighters without any clear direction in a fast paced and highly competitive weight class.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz Controversy: This Time the Joke Is on Us!

Darren Wong — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:10:09 -0500

The UFC has now had three consecutive controversial decisions in main events. In the first two controversial decisions, nearly everybody involved has been blamed. This time, the joke is on us.

After the fight between Lyoto Machida and Mauicio Rua, fans expressed their outrage with the judges for awarding a decision clearly not supported by the majority of fans and media people. The fact that many people must have been influenced by questionable commentary is beside the point. People weren't happy with the decision, and they needed to blame somebody.

Cecil Peoples in particular was singled out for ridicule after saying some half-baked remarks regarding the scoring of the fight, but Peoples wasn't alone in receiving the blame.

The UFC was blamed for the judging controversy, as many fans felt that the decision was arranged by the UFC. Unknown to these people is the fact that the judges are appointed by the athletic commissions, not by the UFC.

Even the fighters don't seem to understand this point. After the Machida decision, Rampage Jackson blamed the UFC for the decision and stated that the UFC needs to get new judges. Tito Ortiz said something similar following his decision loss to Griffin.

Another casualty in the initial controversy was Machida, who instantly seemed to go from being fan favorite to enemy of the state.

I don't know how people can blame Machida simply for not thinking that he lost a fight that incidentally three judges thought he won, but if there is one thing people can do, it's finding a way to blame somebody.

The good news for Machida is that if fans are this quick to blame him, hopefully they'll be just as quick to praise him again if he can defeat Shogun in the rematch.

After the decision in the Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera fight, people could no longer blame one or two judges. The new target became the whole judging system.

At least in this fight, people didn't crucify Couture like they did Machida. This time the blame was at least narrowed to something possibly responsible for the problem.

MMA scoring criteria used by athletic commissions aren't perfect, but they certainly aren't the only problem, as we saw last Saturday.

Last Saturday a much larger problem emerged. In the fight between Machida and Shogun, while there were many fans who felt that Machida deserved to win the decision, there were almost no media experts who felt the same way.

There were only a few exceptions.

In the Forrest vs Tito fight, the fans and media experts were all over the map.

The most common scoring for the fight was probably 29-28 for Forrest Griffin, but I saw online that many people scored the fight 29-28 for Ortiz, while others went as far as 30-26 for Griffin.

BloodyElbow.com posted an article expressing outrage that a judge could possibly have scored the fight for Ortiz. BloodyElbow was far from alone in scoring the fight 30-26 for Griffin.

Apparently the problem isn't just with the judging system.

So who do we blame now?

We can't blame one particular judge, because there have been too many judges responsible for the three recent decisions, and the recent judging controversy has shown us that we can't blame the judging system itself.

There are some fundamental issues that need to be resolved to rectify this situation. I'm still working on that article. For now, let's just stop blaming everybody else.

This time the joke is on us.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 106 Losers: What's Next?

Sterling Spiars — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:37:10 -0500

Despite the fact that a few fights were pulled from the card, UFC 106 featured a number of exciting matchups that produced more fireworks than expected.

Just like with the outcome of UFC 102, Dana White has shown us all that he can take lemons and turn them into lemonade.

Phil Baroni

The one-trick pony with little to no stamina made his return to the UFC against Amir Sadollah. We all knew that Phil Baroni's plan was to knock Sadollah out within the first two minutes before his gas tank was simply running on fumes. Unfortunately for Baroni, this didn't happen, and Sadollah picked "The New York Badass" apart en route to a unanimous decision.

Since White has confirmed that Baroni will not be canned, his next opponent depends on which weight class he would fight in. Either way, it will be against another bottom of the barrel opponent.

If it is at welterweight, a good opponent would be Nick Osipczak. The outcome would be one of two things: Baroni winning the fight with a confidence-boosting knockout, or another case of the crow picking apart the dead, where Osipczak would pick apart Baroni towards victory.

If his next fight happens at middleweight, a perfect fighter to oppose Baroni would be Rob Kimmons. Both fighters like to swing away. Everybody wins with this fight.

Luiz Cane

Luiz Cane entered the fight as a hot prospect that shot his way into the division's top 10. This was the fight to prove whether or not that Cane was ready to swim with the sharks. Unfortunately for him, Cane ran into a great white shark named Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

In a fight that pitted southpaw against southpaw, Nogueira proved that he had the better boxing, knocking out the aggressive striker in the first round.

There is no shame in losing to a world-class fighter, so Cane should only look forward from here. An intriguing fight could come against Ryan Bader. This would give Bader the step up in competition that he needs, as well as give Cane a stiff test against a solid wrestler.

Jacob Volkmann

The twin brother of Lloyd Christmas, Jacob Volkmann entered the arena as an unknown fighter outside of Minnesota. After the night was done, Volkmann had earned the respect of the UFC management and fans.

Volkmann went three rounds against one of the division's top fighters in Paulo Thiago, ultimately losing the decision. There were shining moments for Volkmann, who proved he has a chin and some sneaky jiu-jitsu off of his back.

His next fight should be against Brock Larson, who has fallen from contender status into the midst of the pack. This would generate an exciting, back and forth fight between two solid wrestlers who both wield some exceptional hands as well.

Anthony Johnson

Like with Cane, there is no shame in the performance of Anthony Johnson. In an ugly fight of eye pokes, eye rakes, and a near disastrous knee, Johnson lost to the better fighter in Josh Koscheck.

Johnson did show glimpses of his potential, stuffing a few takedowns from the superior wrestler, as well as connecting on some clean shots to Koscheck's head.

"Rumble" should fight Ben Saunders, who proved that his striking can be devastating. Both guys like to keep the fight standing with the exciting striking, but if the fight goes to the ground, neither one would be at a disadvantage.

Tito Ortiz

Once again, Tito Ortiz made his highly anticipated return to the UFC against Forrest Griffin. Once again, his fight with Griffin generated some serious buzz as the two fought for three rounds.

Once again, the victor was handed the split decision victory, but this time it was handed to Griffin. Ortiz was outclassed and picked apart throughout the third round, where he once again appeared tired and out of shape. Ortiz was only able to score a few takedowns through the fight but had a difficult time keeping Griffin down.

Ortiz has been lobbying to coach The Ultimate Fighter , Season 11 alongside Griffin to set up the rubber match. It is a good idea, but it probably isn't the direction that the UFC wants to go in, recycling the coaches from the past seasons.

The UFC should pit Ortiz against "The Dean of Mean," Keith Jardine, as it gives Tito an opponent that he can bounce back strong against. Nothing against Jardine, but that has been his role since joining the promotion. If anything, it also gives Jardine a chance to prove that nobody in the division should look past him.

Those are the guys that the losers should fight next. Let's ask Robert Gardner about who the winners should fight.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

My Subjective Decision is Better: Opinions Abound on MMA Judging

E. Spencer Kyte — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:34:35 -0500

Quick question: Who is getting the better of this exchange?

The fact of the matter is that there is no definitive answer and getting three people to agree certainly wouldn't be the easiest task of the day.

In all honesty, coming up with a definitive answer to the first question depends on how you respond to a series of related questions first:

Which strike landed first? Who initiated the action? Where are you sitting? Does Machida's punch connect? Did Rua's kick land?

If a consensus can't be reached looking at a photograph, why are so many people up in arms when the same thing happens in real time?

For better or for worse, whenever something is scored subjectively, these things are going to happen.

Just as individuals have different tastes in music, clothes, and food, each judge weighs certain elements of the fights they score differently.

The outcry over what is perceived as a rash of bad decisions as of late, is a little much for me.

While my scorecards have certainly looked different than those read aloud from time-to-time, it's the reactions of some in the media that interest me the most.

This past weekend, both Jorden Breen of Sherdog and Mike Fagan of Bloody Elbow, expressed their displeasure with judge Glenn Trowbridge's scorecard following the Tito Ortiz—Forrest Griffin fight at UFC 106. Trowbridge was the judge who scored things 29-28 Ortiz.

One called him "the most dangerous man in the sport" while the other petitioned for his license to be pulled. I wonder whether they have the same anger and frustration with their colleague Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated , who had the same scorecard as Trowbridge?

Probably not.

What actually interests me more than debating who won the fight, is going back through the video to watch it again or vehemently rattling off Fight Metric numbers about the contest is comments like those offer up by Fagan in his recap :

A card of 29-28 Ortiz is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I personally had the fight 30-26 Griffin, though I find 30-27 and 29-28 Griffin acceptable as well.

My question is: what makes one subjective decision better than another?

For the sake of putting all the cards on the table before we go any further, I had this fight scored as a draw (28-28) with Ortiz winning Rounds one and two, but Griffin earning a 10-8 in the final round to even things out.

Apparently, the way I saw the fight is unacceptable.

First and foremost, each of these last three UFC main events that have drawn criticism, were close fights.

To me, if you can't concede that, there is no point in having this discussion. You're cemented in your view and nothing anyone says will get you to budge, not even an inch.

While the commitment and conviction is commendable, it's also flawed in my opinion. Scoring these fights is completely subjective, therefore by definition there are going to be differing views and potentially different outcomes.

Yes, you saw the fight going one way, but that doesn't mean it is outside of the realm of possibility that someone else saw it a different way.

Besides, it's not like any of these decisions were nearly as bad as the Mike Easton— Chase Beebe bout at UWC seven,and other than the Luke Thomas-led charge to change the results ,not a lot of people were outwardly angered about that fight.

Or in the very least, they weren't calling for people's jobs.

But when you put it on the biggest stage and have the most eyes watching, close fights become cause for boisterous outcries for judging reform and the removal of these incompetent people who offered up differing opinions.

While we're certainly in the business of generating hits and controversy brings the crowds, there is something to be said for having a little perspective.

After all, Forrest Griffin still won the fight,so crisis averted.

Are there areas of improvement and opportunities for growth in the judging of Mixed Martial Arts bouts?

Absolutely, just as there is in boxing, figure skating, diving, and every other subjectively scored sport.

But when things are left up to interpretation, telling someone their interpretation is wrong, invalid or ridiculous is pointless and ultimately proves nothing.

One person looks at a Jackson Pollack and sees art, while the other sees a mess of paint with no purpose.

At the end of the day, both think the other is mistaken and no one can tell them otherwise, no matter how loud they yell and demand they return their museum membership.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

Griffin vs. Ortiz Left Me Smiling

Dorothy Willis — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:43:36 -0500

Like most MMA fans, I was eager to watch UFC 106 to see Tito Ortiz in his return to the octagon.

I have had a grudge against Forrest Griffin ever since I shelled out over 25 bucks to purchase his book, which turned out to be nothing more than a long running joke on whomever purchased it.

Although my son found certain nuggets of what he considered actual wisdom about mixed martial arts and fighting within it's pages, I continued to feel empty and cheated.

And then Forrest added insult to injury when he insulted a fan by talking about the fan's mother in lewd terms. Excuse me, fair readers, but first and foremost, I am a mother of two sons who were athletes. If they had ever dared to talk that way about someone's mother, publicly, they would have regretted it for the rest of their lives!

Aside from hating "Yo Momma" dissing, I also dislike unsportsmanlike behavior, so I had taken Forrest Griffin to task for his run from the ring after his fight with Anderson Silva in an article on this very site. I honestly do not remember how many reads it had.

Of course, today's fans may not approve of my opinions, in fact, my fellow writers on Bleacher Report seldom appreciate the fact that I have voiced my opinions on this site as long as I have. My response has been, "tough noogies, kiddies, Grandma Dee speaks what's on her mind, so get over it!"

I am not a particularly PC oldster, or an overly polite one either.

Unfortunately for a lot of people, I am a big Tito Ortiz fan, too. And before you begin to wonder, "yes, I have read his book and did like it." In my demented mind, it was superior to Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell's books. (I read a lot of MMA books, OK?)

So, as UFC 106 approached, I anxiously awaited Tito's big return bout with Forrest.

I fully expected to see a repeat of their first fight, where Forrest plaintively insisted that he just wanted to win Tito's respect. If I remember correctly, Tito did not mention Forrest accomplishing his goal after winning that match.

Well, you readers must be laughing your heads off thinking how disappointed old Grandma was after this second fight concluded with Forrest defeating Tito.

You would be very wrong to think those thoughts, my friends, because after all was said and done, Grandma had a huge smile on her face and is still very happy with how it ended.

To see Tito being booed was hard on my sensibilities, but when Forrest stepped to the microphone and defended Tito, I had an epiphany of sorts. Forrest is not really a bad guy at all. A smart-ass when he is backed into a corner maybe, but a real sportsman to stick up for the man he had just defeated in front of a booing crowd.

If there is one thing I do know, it is that MMA crowds are pretty much a fickle bunch. It may be the beer, or mob mentality, but they can turn on a favorite fighter in a second. Therefore, what Forrest said certainly won my admiration for his intestinal fortitude in facing down that mob.

Georges St. Pierre, he is not, but still he did a brave and honorable thing in defending Tito, at least in my estimation.

For quite a while I have felt that Tito was greatly wronged by the UFC. I felt like kissing Dana's feet when he accepted Tito so warmly back into the fold. Yes, Grandma Dee had a genuine rush of affection for the other DW! That is certainly newsworthy now isn't it?

The fact that Tito is with Jenna Jameson has never bothered me, because I feel she is extremely intelligent and a very articulate woman. That she has made money making porno movies which have influenced men to talk about her with disrespect sickens me. She made her money in giving men what they like to look at and fantasize about; I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

So, I think Tito should be envied for having discovered what an exceptional woman Jenna is. Their twins are adorable. What a great life they will have raising them!

In the end, though, Forrest got my respect, not by beating Tito, but by standing up to the booing crowd and supporting him in his return to the cage.

Now I have two more men to admire in the world of MMA!

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 106: Recap, Bonuses, Analysis and What's Next

Josh Nason — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:13:01 -0500

Even I was a bit impressed last night at the drawing power of Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin in my little part of the world here in Manchester, NH.

The bar we go to for all UFC ppvs (the awesome MMA-friendly Murphy's Taproom ) was packed last night for UFC 106 and into almost every fight of the night with the exception of Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann.

From Amir Sadollah's Muay Thai clinch clinic on Phil Baroni to the slow motion of Josh Koscheck's finger going in Anthony Johnson's eye, they were transfixed.

And then there was the main event. People cheered for Tito Ortiz and loved Forrest Griffin. They were into this fight like it was five years ago when Ortiz was near the top of his game and when it was all over, most were surprised at the split decision victory for Griffin. 30-27 score? What?

The reason I tell this story is that when I looked around the room, it became apparent that no matter how much guys like myself may complain about the amount of shows and the lack of stars right now on these events due to injury and an overload of cards to fill, it doesn't matter.

UFC is king and the people Saturday night didn't care that Ortiz had been an afterthought in MMA for almost two years. He was a star from the past and they were into it. If that happened here in small New Hampshire, I'm betting it was pretty representative around the country as well.

Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz by split decision

I need to watch the fight again, but at first blush, I thought Ortiz had won 29-28. I was surprised, but not floored by the decision which just seemed to fit given what happened in their first fight. (Of course, they need a 3rd one, right? Almost too good to be true.) Griffin looked good in the win which helped soothe the embarrassment of his loss to Anderson Silva in August and put a positive end to his 2009.

Ortiz is still an interesting draw, but I thought the complaining at the end about his neck and "cracked skull" just came off as desperate and excuse-driven. In the post-game press conference, Ortiz held court and said multiple times that he was robbed.

Surprisingly, he was very emotional and said his career was in Dana White's hands. He's a welcome addition to the star-starved light heavyweight division, but the jury is still out as whether he'll ultimately be relevant in this latest go-round.

And the suggestion from the post-game presser about Ortiz and Griffin being coaches for the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter? That sounds great to me, but I think the impending GSP vs. Dan Hardy fight could use it a bit more. Ortiz vs. Griffin III will sell just fine, but people need a reason to believe Hardy has a chance...any reason at all.

Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson by second round submission

What a weird fight. Between the phantom knee/eye poke on Kosheck to Johnson ironically getting eye gouged twice, this fight was just two rounds but felt like it took about 45 minutes.

Koscheck did exactly what I expected in taking the young Johnson to the ground and making him think about something other than his fists. Good win by Koscheck who earned both Submission Of The Night and Fight Of The Night honors (good for an extra $140k) and has become the UFC's most reliable ironman this fall.

But has Koscheck earned a title shot? Ehhhh, I'm not so sure. Johnson's not a top contender yet and Koscheck can't seem to put a long win streak together. I love the fact he called out Hardy which sets up a fun fight between them down the road, but I need to see Koscheck really beat down a top 10 fighter before I would say he's next in line for GSP.

For Johnson, he's got plenty of time to get better. This was a big jump in competition, so his next fight is going to be important. There was a lot of pressure here, but I like "Rumble" a lot. He's a flashy and fun fighter to watch, so I hope he continues to progress. Losses matter, but this isn't a career killer by any stretch.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Luiz Cane by first-round TKO

Lil' Nog looked great and hopefully will be a shot in the arm in the 205 division. Cane looked overmatched and overwhelmed against Nogueira, who has transitioned as of late into a TKO machine despite having great submission skills. Cane is far from a top 205'er, but I liked what I saw Saturday out of Lil' Nog and am really interested to see who's next in line for him.

He also earned $70k for Knockout Of The Night.

Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision

Volkmann looked terrified at the start of the fight as this was his first shot in the big time. Of the televised event, this was the fight that got over the least with the crowd I watched with, even with an entertaining third round. Thiago got back on the winning side of the ledger after suffering his first career loss at UFC 100, but he's not a contender for the 170-pound title just yet.

Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni by unanimous decision

Just a pure battering of Baroni, who physically looked great but was absolutely gassed after the first round. I'm not sure why the UFC decided Baroni was worth bringing back, but Sadollah took advantage of the situation. He's still quite inexperienced, but looked the part in devastating Baroni in the clinch with knees that had the crowd cringing with each hard connection.

Maybe Baroni has one more fight left in him, but there is a pattern in him not having the cardio to excel in 15 minutes of action. Gotta give it to him though...he was swinging for the fences until the end.

Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis via first round KO

I'm becoming a big Saunders fan as his height and wingspan give him a huge advantage in the division. UFC has a great prospect here and need to be smart with his opponents so they don't burn out the candle. Sadly, I'm also a Davis fan and he got decimated. He's lost two straight and this was his first loss by KO in his career. At 36 years old, you have to wonder if one more loss will be enough for the UFC to call it good.

Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt via first round submission

This could have earned Submission Of The Night as well. It's hard to figure out Grove who has gone into the 'win a few, lose a few' mode the past two years. This is a bad loss for Rosholt who tapped out really quickly after being caught in the triangle from the ground.

Did you know he beat Chris Leben in August? That seems like a very long time ago now. The UFC is a lot different than the WEC and Rosholt is getting a crash course in just how much.

Brian Foster def. Brock Larson via second round submission

This was another weird fight with Larson losing two points in the first round due to a kick to a grounded opponent (both were separated and Larson kicked him in the face as he attempted to get up) and a knee while Foster had three points on the ground (how was Larson supposed to see Foster's hand touching the mat?). Foster poured it on in the second and looked good in doing so. Larson's lost two in a row...not good.

George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent via second round submission

Sotiropoulos looked good in working over Dent, who also made a nice showing here. He's not very TV friendly in terms of what some look for in a fighter, but he's also a good opponent for guys on the way up. If he can put some wins together, who knows?

Caol Uno and Fabricio Camoes drew

The only fight that didn't make TV. What a surprise. I didn't see this, but I can only imagine the excitement.

Josh Nason has published MMA, wrestling and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. He is a contributor to Fight Magazine and Bleacher Report and appears regularly on Fight Network Radio . Follow him on Twitter.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin: Scoring the Saga

Mike Leanza — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:42:12 -0500

Beating a dead horse; a phrase I've learned to love, a phrase that I hope to avoid in this article.

We've all heard everyones take on the fight Saturday, whether it be Tito fans insisting upon a rematch to settle the 1-1 tie, or Forrest fans insisting that Forrest is back.

I agree with both, but that's not what I'm here for.

At UFC 106 Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz engaged in the long, and I mean long, awaited rematch of their UFC 59 battle. Forrest was coming off of a two fight losing streak, one which saw him lose his Light Heavyweight belt and then be thoroughly embarrassed by the best fighter in the world.

Forrest even went as far as saying that he was broken.

On Saturday, he showed that he was fixed.

Tito was coming off of major back surgery and an 18 month hiatus from the sport he had once dominated. A lot happened for Tito in those 18 months.

He became the proud father of twin boys, made several inklings of a potential deal with UFC rival Strikeforce, buried the hatchet with arch-nemesis Dana White, re-signed with the UFC, and had his original original opponent Mark Coleman bail out due to injury.

Finally, after 18 months away from the game, "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" returned.

Finally, after 43 months of waiting, Forrest Griffin would get his rematch.

The battle was a good one, but it got me thinking (don't you love it when that happens). The split decision victory, this time awarded to Forrest Griffin, was just as close as the original war, awarded to Ortiz.

When the decision was announced, I didn't have the same reaction as everyone else. I wasn't jumping off of my couch with glee or screaming at my TV in disgust.

I was silent in a state of deep thought. What was my thought? I wondered who would come out the winner if all six rounds were judged at the same time on the same scorecard. Lets figure it out.

In order to do this I watched both fights in succession, keeping track of every significant moment and keeping my very own scorecard. As soon as the first fight ended, without watching the decision, I switched over to the second fight, scoring it as round four.

UFC 58

Round 1

Dominance. For those of you wondering how the guy at UFC 106 once dominated the Light Heavyweight division, take a look at the first round of this fight.

About 30 seconds into the fight Tito scored one of his patented precision takedowns. From there Tito Ortiz, renowned as one of the kings of ground and pound, did exactly that, pounding away at the Ultimate Fighter winner and future champion. Griffin would get up, only to end up on his back 30 seconds later. The round would end with Ortiz in the dominant position, taking the round with ease.

10-8 Ortiz

Round 2

In this round it seemed as if Griffin had become a completely different fighter after a one minute sitdown with his corner. Forrest was clearly the aggressor putting together crisp combinations and avoiding all five takedown attempts by Ortiz.

Clearly Griffin had learned his lesson. With no ground fighting in this round, I gave it to the man with the more aggressive and effective striking.

10-9 Griffin

Round 3

This round was unbelievably hard to score. I had to watch this round three times in order to make sure that I scored it right.

After watching it for the second time I considered giving the round a score of 10-10. Then I created a system that works very well if done correctly. I scored this round minute by minute.

After every minute I'd give a tally (yes, a tally) to the winner of that minute. Tito won the first two minutes due to more effective striking, Griffin took the next for the same reason. Then it happened, with 1:38 remaining in the round Ortiz scored the takedown, taking the minute, and the round.

10-9 Ortiz

UFC 106

Round 4

This was another round that was pretty tough to score. On one hand you have Ortiz shooting for and getting a takedown and working some ground and pound, but on the other hand a majority of the round was spent standing with Forrest getting the better of Tito. Although I'm a sucker for a takedown, I feel like Forrest had the better round. He was able to avoid any damage and used a kimura attempt to get back on his feet and fight his fight.

10-9 Griffin

Round 5

It took "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" not even 30 seconds to take this fight to where he wanted it. After a pretty good display of stand-up by Tito, Griffin telegraphed one of his infamous leg kicks and Tito took him to the danger zone.

Don't worry Forrest fans, your boy would get back up and manage to kick Tito in his mouth, something I'm sure some other people would like to do.

Unfortunately that's the only thing of mention the Forrest was able to do in this round. Tito would take him down again and bloody the perennial bleeder with some vicious ground and pound.

10-9 Ortiz

Round 6

I'd like to take this time to reminisce on a classic WEC middleweight bout. It was WEC 36, Paulo Filho was set to defend his title against Chael Sonnen in a rematch of a fight that took place a year prior.

Filho, the favorite, did absolutely nothing in this fight. He just walked around seemingly dazed and confused as Chael Sonnen took every round with ease. At UFC 106 in the third round of the main event, Tito Ortiz became Paulo Filho. Griffin imposed his will on a seemingly careless Ortiz winning the round without question.

10-8 Griffin

After 6 rounds of competition, the final scorecard reads 56-56 with this epic being declared a draw.

If anymore incentive was needed for a third fight, this is it. I watched these fights for two hours straight, going over each round numerous times before finally deciding on a score. I had no idea that what I had done would add up to a draw.

I have no preferences between these fighters, in fact, I'm big fans of both and couldn't decide who to root for on Saturday.

Rumor has it that these two will be coaching the next season of The Ultimate Fighter which begins taping in two months. The season would culminate with these two fighting theie rubber match (unless one of these men is offered a part in a film adaptation of a television classic).

Dana White, make this happen. Both of these men were great in there previous seasons as TUF coaches, and the fans want rounds 7,8, and 9.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 106 Answers Questions and Makes Major Ranking Implications

Tim — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:21:19 -0500

I have been very critical of the UFC over the last few weeks. I was frustrated with a series of cards with lackluster main events and the expectation that fans will continue to pay for them. Additionally, I repeatedly documented my frustrations over the Griffin/Ortiz main event at UFC 106.

Despite all my frustrations, UFC 106 turned out to be a very solid card. The results from 106 had as many upsets and divisional/title implications as any card in recent history. Let's review the fights.

The Under card

George Sotiropoulos vs Jason Dent

This fight is a testament to the depth of UFC’s lightweight division. Many may think of it as a simple filler fight between TUF alumni, but realistically Sotiropoulos is a surging fighter. He did lose on the show, but he lost a somewhat controversial match shortly after being poked in the eye.

His last loss outside of TUF was a 2006 disqualification loss to Shinya Aoki. He is now 4—0 in the UFC. Despite being new to the lightweight division, it looks like Sotiropoulos is ready for a step up in competition.

Brock Larson vs Brian Foster

The reason this fight is significant is because Brock Larson lost. Again. Two months ago, Larson was considered a fighter on the move. How quickly things change. In just over two months, he has two losses and will have to regroup if he wants to move back up the rankings.

This is further proof that there is no such thing as an easy fight in the UFC’s welterweight division. Unless your name is George St. Pierre.

Marcus Davis vs Ben Saunders

Wow! This was an impressive fight for Ben Saunders. It was not the same Saunders who was overwhelmed by Mike Swick earlier this year. He rebounded well from his first loss and absolutely destroyed Marcus Davis. That is no easy task. Davis hadn’t been finished in over four years despite fights with some very solid strikers.

This fight seems to solidify Davis as someone who will never surpass the gatekeeper moniker.

Saunders, on the other hand, is looking to take big steps forward squaring off against ranked opponents.

An opponent like Dan Hardy would be an interesting match up for Saunders, but he is obviously tied up. Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson could also make for an exciting fight.

The Main Card

Amir Sadollah vs Phil Baroni

This fight isn’t of any real relevance to rankings, but the UFC wants to push Sadollah and he may end up fighting tough opponents sooner rather than later. Sadollah showed some nice versatility in his strikes and also that he can take a punch. He will need to avoid slow starts and some strikes if he wants to have a viable UFC career.

Amir will likely remain a main card combatant, even if it is not deserved. A fight with someone like Brock Larson is a possibility or maybe the UFC will sign another showy tomato can for him to beat up on.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Luiz Cane

This was a battle between two ranked fighters looking to legitimize their positioning. Nog was fighting his first in the UFC and Cane was facing his first true top level opponent.

Nogueira proved he is a force to be reckoned with in the UFC’s LHW division. It may be plum full of contenders, but Machida has already dispatched a few of them. If Machida is still the title holder after his rematch with Rua, Little Nog starts to come into play as a serious contender.

In the meantime, the UFC could potentially match him up with Brandon Vera or a participant of Griffin/Ortiz or Evans/Silva. One way or another Little Nog is immediately a contender. In my opinion, he would hold up well in many of those match ups.

Cane obviously has to take a step back and re—evaluate his game. He faced his first truly elite striker and got tagged multiple times. He has some work to do and may be years away from any type of serious contention. This guy has skill and passion; expect to see a different Cane next time around.

Paulo Thiago vs Jacob Volkmann

This turned out to be a very entertaining match. Paulo showed the versatility that makes him dangerous, while Volkmann, in his UFC debut, showed he was a worthy opponent. The future is bright for both of these fighters.

Thiago doesn’t seem interested in easy matchups, so look for him to fight another top 10 fighter. He may fight Swick or maybe even Saunders. A fight like that would give the winner a chance to shoot up in the rankings.

The UFC desperately needs to create some welterweight contenders and a solid striker/grappler like Thiago could create some interesting matchups.

Josh Koscheck vs Anthony Johnson

Eye pokes and phantom eye pokes aside, this was a great fight. It was everything I hoped it would be. Johnson came into this fight with a lot of hype, but it was a fight that was Koscheck’s to lose. Koscheck has a bit of an edge when it comes to experience and versatility.

And he showed as much.

Kosheck does like to stand and bang, but he used his wrestling when he had to and was leading the fight early on. It was a great fight for him. The win helps erase memories of the KO loss to Thiago, but still leaves him with no real direction.

Along with Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch, Kosheck remains in limbo due to one-sided losses to the current champion. He will continue to fight top level talent with no real promise of it getting him anywhere.

Look for Koscheck to fight anyone the UFC throws in front of him. Love him or hate him, the guy is a competitor and will take pleasure in ruining someone else’s attempt at a title run.

Johnson on the other hand won’t likely be fighting another top 5 fighter right away. Expect him to fight someone coming off a loss like Swick or Marcus Davis. Or perhaps the victorious Saunders.

Tito Ortiz vs Forrest Griffin

I was not a fan of Griffin/Ortiz as a main event; both were clearly on the comeback trail. However, it ended up being a very solid fight and both guys seemed to give it all that they had.

Ortiz obviously wasn't in tip top shape, but Griffin looked healthy.

Nothing about this fight was surprising to me. People have been saying for years that Ortiz needs to evolve. Clearly he has no interest in doing so.

As for Griffin, he is still the same guy. I was worried he would be a little more gun shy, but couldn't blame him for as much given his last two fights. Instead he came out willing to take one to give one. Very encouraging.

Griffin had to prove to himself that he could take a punch and he did just that.

His comeback will be a process, and not an easy one. Griffin has to learn how to take advantage of his strengths and not expose himself like he has in the past. That said, I'm unsure he will take that step.

If you have read his book (which is a great read, by the way) you realize he truly is a bit nuts and rather likes taking punishment. I don't think we will ever see him change his ways.

Ultimately, that will mean some more KO losses with dangerous strikers like Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Lyoto Machida, a reinvigorated Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, Luiz Cane and Keith Jardine standing in front of him. Even the winner of Matt Hammill/Jon Jones is a dangerous match up.

I don’t know who Ortiz will face next; some of the same fighters are in play for both him and Forrest. Ortiz may end up matched against Hammill, Jones, Jardine, Cane or maybe even Chuck Liddell. After what I saw tonight, I don’t like his chances against most of them.

Other Notes

Double Play

I appreciate the UFC airing prelim fights for free on Spike, but I find it rather irritating to watch all of the same fights again during the PPV. I know this is to resolve timing issues, but I don’t know if anyone wants to watch three fights twice.

Calling Out Hardy

Koscheck made some valid points about Dan Hardy. Hardy hasn’t fought anyone as good as Koscheck and doesn’t exactly deserve a title shot, but the UFC doesn’t have any other options. Plus Kosheck has nothing to gain from these remarks.

Hardy will still be fighting GSP and Koscheck’s comments take legitimacy away from what the UFC is doing, which won’t make Dana happy. It doesn’t bother me though; he may not gain anything from it, but I don’t have a problem with him calling a spade a spade.

Griffin is a Pro

After his loss, Ortiz got on the mic and complained about his injuries. The crowd didn’t appreciate his excuses and quickly let him know it. Griffin heard the chorus of boos and asked for the microphone back.

Griffin simply explained that injuries happen when you train to fight people. The crowd immediately laid off on the boos and gave Ortiz respectful applause.

This was a stand up move. I have a lot of respect for Griffin and despite Silva “breaking him”, I wish him well in the future.

More to Come

In the end, UFC 106 turned out to be a very good card.

But I can’t wait for UFC 107.

Read more Tito Ortiz news on BleacherReport.com