Ortiz will fight in July 2009 for UFC
Date: 2008-11-06 08:00:00
Source: http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/11/07/tito-ortiz-guar...
Submitted By: Explosive Fight Videos
In May, Tito Ortiz fought for the UFC for what both he and UFC President Dana White said would be the last time. Ortiz vowed then that he would sign a lucrative contract to fight for a new mixed martial arts organization soon. Over the last five months, Ortiz has come out of the woodwork several times to say he was "close to signing" or "about to sign" or "a week away from signing" a big-time contract to fight for some MMA organization or another. It hasn't happened yet. When last we saw Ortiz, he was at the October 4 EliteXC show announcing that he was going to sign a contract with the organization soon. EliteXC is now finished, but Ortiz isn't finished saying he's close to signing a deal. In an appearance at last weekend's Rumble in the Park in Fresno (broadcast today on HDNet's Inside MMA), Ortiz said, "It's either going to be with the UFC or it's going to be with Affliction, but guaranteed, you guys will see me fight -- no matter what -- by July." Ortiz also mentioned that he had back surgery last month, which he deemed successful. He also said it was the same surgery that Nate Quarry had, and Quarry was out of action for 15 months after his back surgery. So Ortiz is very optimistic if he thinks he can guarantee that he'll return just seven months after the surgery. He's also optimistic if he thinks Affliction will still be in the MMA business in July. And he's optimistic if he thinks UFC will still be willing to do business with him. Bottom line, Ortiz is an optimistic guy. Of course, it could be worse: Ortiz was close to signing a contract with EliteXC. As former EliteXC fighter Jake Shields said, "Good thing he didn't sign with them. He'd be on eBay."
