Tito Ortiz has found an opponent for UFC 106 which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas, Nev. Forrest Griffin has stepped up to face the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” after his original opponent Mark Coleman was forced to pull out due to a knee injury. Ortiz confirmed the match-up via his Twitter account late Thursday evening.
This will not be the first time Ortiz and Griffin square off inside the Octagon. The two veterans first met back in 2006 at UFC 59 and ended with Ortiz edging out a controversial split decision. Ortiz won his next two fights, both against Ken Shamrock, then lost to Liddell, fought to a draw with Rashad Evans, and most recently lost to Machida at UFC 84 in May 2008.
Griffin has been the much more active fighter since the two first fought. He has had seven fights, winning four. His most recent fight was a first round knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 101 back in August. Griffin stormed out of the Octagon following the fight, and only recently revealed where he ran off to.
The fight will mark not only Ortiz’s first fight in over a year since re-signing with the UFC, but it will be his first bout following spinal surgery, a procedure that corrected a back injury he says had been plaguing him for years. According to recent statements by Ortiz, he is a completely new and rejuvenated fighter.
With both fighters coming off two losses, the fight makes perfect sense on paper. It gives Griffin the opportunity to revenge a controversial loss and provides Ortiz a perfect measuring stick to see where and if he still fits into the light heavyweight title hunt.
By: Jack Bratcher