In the latest chapter of the saga that is Tito Ortiz, the "bad boy" of the UFC has seemingly caused multiple rumors to be released onto the Internet as to who he will be fighting next in the UFC. The presumption was that he would rematch Rashad Evans due to the draw that occured between the two at the UFC 73: Stacked because of a Tito Ortiz fence grab that ultimately caused the scores to be even at the end of the bout. With Ortiz's contract discussions in play, Ortiz has been flapping his gums about potential matchups that may or may not be in the works. Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, and the already mentioned Rashad Evans are all possible matchups. It seems odd since Rashad Evans was the fight everyone assumes was going to happen and was said to be happening at UFC 78. It appears that matchup is still happening, but Ortiz has continued the rumors about other fights replacing that matchup. With all the other potential matchups in the air, are there benefits to the other possible opponents? I wanted to take a look inside those potential matchups to see if there really is a bigger benefit to producing those types of matchups. Would a Silva-Ortiz or Henderson-Ortiz fight be a fight that could save the year end events?
Rashad Evans rematch will disappoint
At UFC 73, Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans was a highly anticipated matchup for the mere fact that it was a stepping stone for Rashad Evans to defeat to begin a run into the top contendership of the UFC Light Heavyweight Division. For Ortiz, it was a battle to prove whether or not he was still a fighter that could sneak into contention and cause some trouble and possibly a run for another title. Most MMA fans laugh at that prospect, but Tito Ortiz has the skills to come to life. Lately, his cardio has been under critique even though he trains in Big Bear, California, renowned for providing some altitude training as well as great camps full of top-tier fighters.
After the draw between Ortiz and Evans due to Ortiz's fence grab, the rematch was already being announced by Dana White. Many fans sighed in dismay due to the fact that fight was uneventful the first time around. Evans looked scared to be countered by Ortiz's sprawl and his striking was subpar. Ortiz looked to be pushing the pace, but began to tire late in the 2nd round. Let's get one thing straight, Tito Ortiz won the fight. He drew only due to the fence grab, that's the obvious insight on that fight that everyone clearly knows. But a rematch of an already boring fight that had some anticipation leading up to it only to be proven to be unexciting is something the fans do not want to see. Unless we see a Rashad Evans who will use his wrestling more and strike with a bit more aggressiveness, the fight will most likely go the same way it did the first time. For Ortiz, the rumor mill began most likely due to the fact that he wants a bigger fight, more money, and an easier route back into the picture. Is this rematch the only option right now for Tito Ortiz?
In my mind, yes. Tito needs to prove he can be put into the lower top-tier of fighters with a win over an up and comer. He barely beat TUF fighter Forrest Griffin in a controversial split decision. He beat down an older, slower, and gassed Ken Shamrock twice and basically hyped the fights so much that by the time they came around, people were actually somewhat excited for them. A very good job in self-promoting those matchups by Tito Ortiz, you have to give him a bit of credit for that, but it doesn't put him close to even breaking into some of the top contenders in the Light Heavyweight Division. The UFC thought so by pitting him against Liddell in a grudge match that ended with Tito being caught in the third round. Close to seven months later, he gets downgraded to fighting Rashad Evans after fighting the champion, Chuck Liddell. He proved that he wasn't what he used to be. I think he sorely needs an impressive win over a great wrestler like Rashad Evans to really begin a climb toward the top. With the Light Heavyweight Division being flooded with new fighters, Tito isn't in that top tier yet. He hasn't fought consistently this year, and needs to string some wins together before his time is over.
On the flip side, I think a rematch will disappoint. It was fairly unexciting during their first encounter. Rashad's style doesn't counter Tito's style all that well. Pitting two takedown fighters against each other and having one of them shy away from using his primary skills didn't bode well for the fight the first time around. Ortiz's defense is a lot better than most fighters Rashad has faced. His boxing wasn't as effective as it has been in the past when he fought Tito before. We could have the makings for another boring fight, or we could see a much improved Ortiz or Evans. Rashad is now stuck in the Ortiz charade not knowing whether he will be battling the Huntington Beach Bad Boy or having his fight pushed back because Ortiz shmoozed the Joe Silva into a different matchup. For right now, Evans-Ortiz is still the matchup that is up for UFC 78. Will it go on? Nobody knows, but there are two other potential matchups that have been rumored.
Dan Henderson wants to fight at 205
It's been reported in a few publications and in interviews that Dan Henderson wants to fight at 205. The consensus from the MMA community is that Henderson should drop to Middleweight and give Anderson Silva a run for his money. I fall within the latter group. I think Henderson would be an excellent matchup with Anderson Silva, and I'd actually go as far to say he would dominate the Brazilian striker. Last week, rumors surfaced from Ortiz that Henderson may be a possibly matchup that could be set soon. If this fight happened, what would the UFC's thinking be behind it? Are they trying to load up some type of end of the year card with potentially great fights? Of course they are, but Ortiz vs. Henderson?
First of all, Henderson's standup is much better than Ortiz's standup. Henderson's power alone would probably crush Ortiz early in the fight. His wrestling skills are more honed that Ortiz's ground game, although you can knock Henderson to some extent due to some of his showings in PRIDE. During his PRIDE reign, he was outwrestling by some far less skilled ground fighters. To me, this potential matchup is murder for Ortiz. If Ortiz has been renegotiating a new contract, the obvious reason as to why he will be coming back is to sell tickets. Henderson isn't the type of guy to play along with that notion. Also, you can't sell too many tickets talking a huge smack game when you get destroyed by a big name fighter such as Dan Henderson. It doesn't work that way. If the UFC wants to get their money's worth out of Tito Ortiz, I think lower level fighters are the way to go until he proves himself to be back in shape and fighting at a high level again.
Wanderlei Silva rematch in the works
Another hot rumor that has been out there is the possibility of a Tito Ortiz vs. Wanderlei Silva rematch. Rematch you say? If you haven't seen it, Ortiz fought Silva back in UFC 25 in which he threw Wanderlei down to the ground for most of the fight and dominated him in ground and pound fashion. He didn't TKO Silva, but won an unanimous decision. If you watch the fight in-depth, you can definitely see Wanderlei's size difference from then to now. He is much bigger, stronger, and has a much better takedown defense than he used to. The rematch rumors were first spoken by Ortiz during a speech at Little Creek Casino in Shelton, WA this past weekend, sourced by Fightlinker. I think this is a horrible fight right now for a number of reasons.
First, Wanderlei Silva is a huge signing for the UFC and Dana White has publicly said that Wanderlei was a guy he dreamed about signing. Dana seems to have the notion that Silva is a guy who can make the UFC a lot of money. Instead of setting up Silva for a possibly lay and pray beatdown by Ortiz, get him some experience in the cage first unlike the other PRIDE fighters that have been sent in too early. I'm not saying that Ortiz would necessarily win in that manner, but I'd rather see a tune up fight for Silva before a major fight. A lot of you may think that an Ortiz vs. Wanderlei fight may not be a major fight, but with the Ortiz hype machine in full gear before the fight, it will become a ridiculous spectacle. Be assured, Dana White would be hoping Ortiz exploits the hell out of the media to anger Silva into a war of words.
Second, Ortiz would probably be signed to a new deal. One fight into his new deal, he possibly gets devastatingly knocked out by Silva after a much hyped campaign by Ortiz to bring in the big dollars. Fans watch him as he gets destroyed and of course, many fans love it! But now what happens? Ortiz's value in the light heavyweight division begins to go down the tubes. People will say that he dodged the rematch with Evans, he got destroyed by Silva in their rematch, and his days as a top ranked fighter are over, needless to say, they may already be over. With the amount of talent in that division, Ortiz is almost a lock for underperforming and being beat out of the division. I'm not even going to get into the type of fights he may get if he beats Evans in a rematch. Can someone say Lyoto Machida? Nobody wants to fight that guy, and he's coming up through the rankings and may run into Ortiz soon. Fact is, having someone like Ortiz, although hated, produces hype and brings in more PPV buys and sales. Getting him possibly murdered by Silva would not bode well. Let Ortiz prove his worth, give him someone lower or the rematch with Evans and let him make you some money on some of the lower level light heavyweight bouts. Give him a huge fight later on into his contract.
Last, Wanderlei Silva has already mentioned that fact that he would like to fight Forrest Griffin to avenge Mauricio Rua's loss at UFC 76. I believe that this is a much better matchup for the UFC to promote. The whole "avenge" storyline will be hyped to death, the UFC vs. PRIDE debate will be brought up again and again, and it's a fight that if Griffin can win, will solidify a shot at the title for him. On the other hand, Silva will have the chance to have a strong showing against a guy who has had success, but isn't exactly the best fighter there is in the division. The matchup makes much better sense to me, but due to Griffin's horrendous gash that he received from "Shogun" in their matchup, we may not see this fight for quite some time.
In retrospect, Ortiz could market the Silva battle as a rematch, and would be the right guy to pull Silva into a war of words. Ortiz is a master at hyping fights and to his credit, many fans may hate him but he always seems to do well in the pocketbook. The UFC could work a rematch angle, as well as another UFC vs. PRIDE debate just like the rest of the fights. Wanderlei would definitely get upset over any comment Ortiz makes, and the war of words alone would make this fight hotly anticipated. Wanderlei's debut in the Octagon alone would make any hardcore MMA fan want to see this matchup.
Putting it all together
Until Ortiz's contract is figured out, we won't find out what's going on with his next matchup. He has one fight left on his contract, and he has stated that in his dealings with the Fertittas, owners of the UFC, he was offered the deal that he wanted. So why hasn't it been signed and the matchup confirmed? I have no idea. Rashad Evans is now waiting in the wings of the contract negotiations. Rashad could be matched up with someone like Houston Alexander or Lyoto Machida if the Ortiz fight does not happen. To be honest, I think Rashad gets destroyed in both fights, but that's speculation as far as if those fights would happen in light of Ortiz being matched up with someone else.
Henderson and Silva are a bit more intriguing, but I don't think Ortiz deserves that kind of huge matchup. But what do I know? I know that Ortiz is a media mogul for the UFC. I know that no matter who they put Ortiz in with, he will hype that fight to the max and every casual MMA fans who doesn't realize that Ortiz hasn't beaten a top contender since 2006 will eat the hype up with a spoon in hand. Eventually, even the hardcore fans will show some interest, although the consensus would be that Ortiz would be beaten. I doubt the Henderson rumor has any truth to it. Wanderlei Silva vs. Tito Ortiz does have some merit though. With a big marketing scheme that the UFC can deploy for that matchup and the hype that Ortiz could create with a bit of smack talk with Wanderlei Silva, the matchup could become a hotly anticipated rematch. Don't hold your breath though.
SOURCES
Fightlinker.com: Tito vs. Wanderlei Silva or Rashad Evans
TaggRadio: Tito vs. Henderson <--- Debunked, but still worthy of analysis
Apparently, some people did not believe the rumors were true or didn't read any MMA news for an entire week... here you go.