Tito Ortiz is looking to fight again this year, but after last year’s bout against Chuck Liddell concluded a longstanding grudge, the next one will be “just for fun.”
Ortiz (20-12-1), the former UFC light heavyweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer, seemingly retired from MMA for the third time in November after he knocked out Liddell (21-9) in the first round of their trilogy match. Following the finish, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was adamant he had nothing left to prove in the cage. But Ortiz has revealed that he intends to compete in the final quarter of this year.
“I’ll probably be fighting in October,” Ortiz told TMZ. “After I fought Chuck last year I thought it would probably be my last one, but my body is intact, everything is fast, everything is great. Sparring’s been good, training’s been great, and so let’s do one more for fun.”
Over the past decade, Ortiz has fought for the UFC, Bellator and most recently upstart GoldenBoy MMA. He believed his partnership with Oscar De La Hoya would help create change in the MMA space, but from all indications the pay-per-view for the Liddell fight struggled, and there’s been no indications that a second show is on the horizon.
At 44, Ortiz claims that he’s still in the necessary condition to compete. He kept coy about potential opponents for his next fight but said it’s going to be something that brings joy to himself and spectators.
“Just for fun,” Ortiz said. “I have an opponent, and it’s going to be fun when we announce it, so it’s going to be cool.”
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