Tito Leaving, UFC Returning?

In a move that has been rumored for quite some time after the falling out between the UFC and Tito Ortiz, Tito has jumped to the upstart promotion ‘Affliction MMA’. Sports Illustrated first broke the story:

“I guarantee you that my contract will be like no other,” said Ortiz, stopping short of giving away the specifics of a deal that could include responsibilities outside of the ring. “It will be a ground-breaking record contract for sure, without a doubt. There’s so much money to be made right now in mixed martial arts and it’s all about the fighters trying to make that money. It’s going to be a long-term deal where I put my heart and soul into the company and help build them. That’s something I’m interested in doing. They’re going to bring me on, not just as a fighter but also doing some of the back work also.”

Ortiz, who became a free agent on Monday after an 11-year career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, met with Donald Trump on Tuesday to finalize the deal and is expected to be at Wednesday’s press conference where his first opponent will be Renato ”Babalu” Sobral.

“Babalu has been in my crosshairs,” Ortiz said. “He’s already been talking smack, saying if he sees me he’s going to kick my ass, but right on if he keeps thinking that. He’ll get his face caved in sooner or later. I know Frank Shamrockis another person who’s been opening up his mouth. He beat me the last time we fought and I think that would be a great revenge fight where I kick his ass and finally shut him up. As time goes we’ll see who Affliction signs besides me. I don’t know. I might even go up to heavyweight if the bigger pay days are there.”

…

“Mr. Trump works fast and gets busy in a lot of the things he does and he’s going to give me the best deal possible,” said Ortiz. “I know they want to make some money and I know they got over 100,000 pay-per-view buys on their first show and with me it’s guaranteed to be over 500,000 pay-per-view buys just by the number of fans that are going to follow me no matter where I go so they’re going to get there money’s worth just in pay-per-view no matter what.”

Interesting news to be sure. After his fight with Babulu, however, are there really any big paydays for Tito at light heavyweight in Affliction? And if he is serious about a move up to heavyweight in Affliction where some of the ‘big money’ fights may be, does anyone really think he can be competitive against names like Fedor, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, etc? It will be interesting to see just what type of record contract Tito is talking about. Perhaps it includes shares in the company and their success will be linked to his success. Hopefully for Tito he doesn’t find out that he really doesn’t have the drawing power he thinks he has.

It was also announced yesterday during a press conference in Toronto that Dana White has been considering a return to Montreal before the end of the year. While he mentioned November or December as possible months for the event, the UFC already has an ‘end of the year’ event planned for December where the heavyweight title will be on the line. Having said this, November is the more than likely time to expect the UFC’s return up North. TSN.ca has the scoop: 

“The UFC is looking to return to Canada later this year.

”I literally just left a meeting where we were talking about that,” UFC president Dana White told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. ”We’re looking to come back to Montreal.”

White said the mixed martial arts organization hopes to return in November or December.

…

Should St. Pierre dispose of top contender Jon Fitch in Minneapolis at UFC 87 on Saturday night, the stage could be set for a super-fight in Montreal later this year between the Canadian star and lightweight champion B.J. Penn.”

This is obviously something that all Canadian mixed martial arts fans will be excited to hear. The first event held at the Bell Centre sold out in record time and perhaps the UFC won’t be returning there. Could we see this event held at Olympic Stadium? We know that Dana White has brought up this possibility before and this would be a huge moment for the UFC if they were able to sell out that venue. This is one story that I will surely be keeping an eye on. We all remember how long it took them to get here the first time. Here’s hoping that we only have to wait a few months this time around.

 

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