| Why Tito Ortiz is good for the UFC!? |
The Chron Reports, Tito Ortiz is good for business. He is one of the most polarizing mixed martial artists on the planet, but the bottom line is he is good for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s bottom line.
No fighter this side of Chuck Liddell draws a crowd like "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," and the UFC knows it. UFC boss Dana White takes shots at Ortiz at will, with the latest salvo coming earlier this month at UFC 72. White called him out for declining a rematch on the show with Forrest Griffin. But even White can’t dispute that the brash Ortiz is one of the fighters who paved the way for the UFC to be where it is today.
Ortiz has been part of five of the top 20 highest grossing mixed martial arts gates in Las Vegas. With Ortiz in the main event of each of those shows, the UFC grossed $11 million, including $5.4 million alone from December’s Liddell-Ortiz 2, which set the North American record for a mixed martial arts gate. That fight also drew the most pay-per-view buys in the sport’s history with nearly 1.1 million, good for another $43 million for the UFC coffers.
Ortiz, 32, is a hit on cable as well. His shellacking of Ken Shamrock in the third bout of their trilogy in October 2006 drew a Spike TV/UFC record of 4.2 million viewers.
While it might be tempting to consider those points part of the past, Ortiz is still very much a part of UFC present.
Despite not one but two title fights on the July 7 "Stacked" card from Sacramento, the UFC is leading with Ortiz in a non-title fight in its promotion of the event.
Ortiz’s fight with Rashad Evans at 73 comes at a pivotal point in his relationship with the UFC. Win or lose, Ortiz has two fights left on his contract. While a loss to the unbeaten, younger Evans would support arguments from some of the sport’s pundits that Ortiz is no longer among the best 205-pounders, he remains one of the few fighters in mixed martial arts who doesn’t need to win to sell tickets. He has a huge, steadfastly loyal fan base.
Ortiz (16-5) has walked away from the UFC once before over his differences with White. However, during his one-year hiatus between 2005 and 2006, he didn’t fight for another organization. Today, upstart promotions such as EliteXC and BodogFight would likely throw tantalizing sums of money at a free-agent Ortiz and give him the chance to one up White a final time. White doesn’t think it will happen.
"Do I need Tito Ortiz to continue to grow my business? No," said White. "Tito’s always an interesting character, but Tito’s a good fighter, and he deserves to be in the UFC. I can see Tito Ortiz finishing his career in the UFC. We’re always going to butt heads, but as long as he’s one of the top fighters in the world, he’ll stay in the UFC."
White said he is not currently discussing a contract extension with Ortiz but expects to do so next year.
| " | "Do I need Tito Ortiz to continue to grow my business? No," said White. "Tito's always an interesting character, but Tito's a good fighter, and he deserves to be in the UFC. I can see Tito Ortiz finishing his career in the UFC. We're always going to butt heads, but as long as he's one of the top fighters in the world, he'll stay in the UFC." |
Your right he is a great fighter and deserves to be in the UFC but he also needs to indulge in a slice of humble pie…arrogance will make you lose fans not gain them….