by: Jack Bratcher
“Can you imagine Tito Ortiz and Kimbo in the cage together one day,” Shaw asked on Thursday during a Media Call. That fight is a very real possibility. At this point, it’s very doubtful Tito Ortiz will resign with UFC. The last fight on his contract takes place on May 24th against Lyoto Machida. Machida is a man that I suspect was hand-picked to send Ortiz out of the UFC with a beating. A loss for Ortiz could potentially be devastating, making his marketability drop like Robbie Lawler on the end of a Nick Diaz punch.
During the UFC’s own media call on Thursday, Dana White had a few final words regarding Ortiz, “Tito is a f***ing idiot.” “He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever met. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense. … I put up with his s*** when he was a good fighter (but) he’s not anymore.” White has stated he’s refusing to get in a bidding war over Tito. Will Gary Shaw be able to scoop of the fighter/businessman and be willing to lay down the necessary cash to give Tito a home at Elite XC? Shaw is convinced he can reinvent Tito, making him a bigger star than even the UFC did. And it’s hard to argue that point with Elite XC slated for CBS Prime Time viewing.
I have to admit, a Tito vs. Kimbo fight sounds very intriguing. With Tito’s wrestling and ground and pound and with Kimbo’s striking I think it would be a great match up. I like the way Shaw thinks. Tito has been fighting at Light Heavyweight and Kimbo has been fighting at Heavyweight so it would be interesting to see how they deal with that. But it sounds good to me. I’m in. Tito has been with the UFC for eleven years. All but one of his professional MMA fights have been inside the UFC. I think it is probably time to move on and experience some different things. I think it would be good for him to get a change of scenery as well as be able to go somewhere that doesn’t have so many big names where he doesn’t get lost in the mix. With so many big names in the UFC these days, it’s not hard to understand how someone like Tito could feel he may not be getting the respect and attention he deserves; especially when not holding a title. If Tito goes the Elite XC however, he will be one of the few big men on campus. Inevitably more attention and adoration would be shown to him in that organization I would imagine. And probably most important, Tito would have a very legitimate shot at winning one of the Elite XC Titles; something that has eluded him and honestly, most likely would continue to elude him in the UFC.