Chuck Liddell Looks To Remain Undefeated Against Tito Ortiz.
Liddell and Ortiz Fight For A Third Time
After teasing a “Golden Boy MMA” brand venture with Chuck Liddell, Golden Boy Promotions has landed its first official MMA fight, and it just happens to be Chuck Liddell versus Tito Ortiz. Liddell and Ortiz fight for a third time while some simply ask, “but why?”
We’re aware that Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions have a significant interest in jumping into MMA, but is this the entrance they need? In its heyday, this was a premier match-up on more than one occasion. These first two fights are just begging for a recap.
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Back on April 2, 2004 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Liddell was 34 years old. The “Ice Man” was challenged by the 29-year-old “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” It was a fight downplayed by Ortiz after accusing Liddell of an eye poke (even if it was inadvertent). Liddell went on to knock out Ortiz just 38 seconds into the second round of the bout. With the victory, Liddell became the first fighter to knock out Ortiz.
Afterwards, Liddell became the No. 1 contender in the Light Heavyweight Division, and coached against the then-Light Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture, during the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Ortiz was also successful after his loss to Liddell. Tito went on to win back to back fights via submission vs. Patrick Cote and Vitor Belfort, respectively. Skipping over the contractual issues between the UFC and Ortiz, he returned to the organization in 2006 and defeated TUF1 winner Forrest Griffin via split decision.
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After the knockout and subsequent paths of these fighters, as fate would have it, the pair would need to square off yet again, this time, more than two years later in December of 2006. At the time, Liddell was the Lightweight Champion and Ortiz was stepping in the octagon to strip him of the title.
Instead, Ortiz ended up on his back, and Liddell won by TKO with one minute, four seconds left in the third round. Although Ortiz managed to secure a takedown near the end of Round 2,Liddell scrambled out and managed to survive the round. Later, the two fighters mentioned a myriad of injuries suffered either before, or during the fight.
There was enough hype surrounding the event to garner nearly 1.1 Million PPV purchases.
Liddell and Ortiz Fight for a Third Time
This one is probably for nostalgia’s sake. No question, these are two extremely talented fighters, and I’m certain they will show up in the best physical shape, and put on the best show possible. The perplexing part is that both fighters are in their 40’s now (Liddell at 48 and Ortiz at 43). It begs the question, what do these two have left in the tank? And Apparently I’m not the only one wondering…
Ortiz will win and it will only matter to him.
— ✶ SM✶ East (@Eastman5) July 3, 2018
Perhaps the most intriguing story line revolving around Liddell vs. Ortiz 3, is that Oscar De La Hoya has hinted at Golden Boy Promotions venturing into the world of MMA. At this point, De La Hoya has more than dipped his toes in, booking what used to be a premier UFC match-up. However, if they plan to make their journey into MMA work long-term, they will need to corral more current (and relevant) MMA style fighters.
And they better hope the fight is more than just two old men fighting past their prime. Anything less would be just as easy to find on Netflix as it would a pay-per-view event.
