MMA Universe

The UFC returns this weekend with the second of back-to-back even weekends with UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2. The original UFC 106 fight card looks very different from the list of fights we will get to see this weekend.

Tito Ortiz was scheduled to make his (second) return to the UFC against Mark Coleman, but will instead rematch Forrest Griffin due to an Coleman knee injury.

Top welterweight Jon Fitch was the victim of a double-whammy as his first opponent, Ricardo Almeida, suffered a new injury and his replacement opponent, Thiago Alves, also suffered an injury during training.

Finally, the scheduled main event heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin has now been postponed indefinitely due to Lesnar’s illness.

The UFC will once again treat fans to a minimum of two undercard bouts on SpikeTV leading up to the Pay-Per-View event.

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin – Tito Ortiz is known for running his mouth and talking himself up in grand fashion. This fight with Forrest Griffin really is a clutch fight for Ortiz though, as it truly is now time for him to put up or shut up.

Ortiz has already cleared any potential excuses from his collection and has told us all on numerous times that he is finally healthy again and back to 100% after having his spinal fusion surgery.

Can we believe Tito? Is he truly back to the Tito of old?

My guess is yes and no. In Tito’s mind, I’m sure he feels great and feels like he’s back to the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” However, in reality, father time has caught up with Tito to a certain extent, and the landscape of MMA has changed greatly since his glory days in the early part of the decade.

The problem for Tito is this – the Tito Ortiz that dominated the UFC light heavyweight division from 2000-2003 wouldn’t enjoy the same success in today’s MMA landscape. The whole MMA game has changed and the athletes that fight today are just much better mixed martial artists than the guys who where at the top of the heap just eight or nine years ago.

So for Tito to simply be back to “the Tito of old” is not enough; Tito needs to be “the Tito of old” with some serious improvements in his standup game.

Luckily (or unluckily) for Tito, he is catching Forrest Griffin at what is a very tenuous time for the TUF superstar. After winning the light heavyweight title in a razor close decision against Quinton Jackson, Griffin proceeded to cough the belt up to Rashad Evans and then get completely humiliated against Anderson Silva.

The embarrassing loss to Silva really seemed to bring out a different side of Griffin that many of his fans had never seen before. Forrest has always been glib and tough to really pin down on his true thoughts and feelings regarding fighting, but Forrest simply ran out of the ring and went AWOL.

Sure, Forrest got married and spent some time on his honeymoon, but when he returned he still didn’t provide any kind of insight or answers into what is going on in his head. Will Forrest have the confidence needed to continue to compete with the top of the light heavyweight division? Fighting Tito Ortiz for a second time will definitely help us to find out.

Forrest standup game should definitely be better than Tito’s. While not a technical striker, Griffin has good power and manages to land a lot of strikes on his opponents. Griffin’s leg kicks have also become well known in recent fights and it will be interesting to see how he uses that skill-set against Ortiz.

Will Griffin attempt to chop down the legs of Tito as he did against Quinton Jackson or will the fear of being taken down make him hesitant?

This fight has me more intrigued than any other fight has in a long time. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

Winner: Tito Ortiz

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson – Will Anthony Johnson make weight? That is the only question we will undoubtedly hear over the remainder of this week. It’s really too bad because Johnson has only missed weight once and we all really should be talking about what a good matchup this is.

We all know Johnson’s excellent speed and explosiveness. We all know Koscheck’s excellent wrestling and competitiveness. Which fighter walks away victorious is a tough call.

I think Josh Koscheck can win this fight easily if he simply falls back on his strength and uses his superior wrestling to keep the fight on the mat. However, I’m not convinced that Koscheck is that interested in being just a wrestler after his loss to Georges St. Pierre. Koscheck seems to favor striking more and more with each of his recent fights and that could be a problem in this matchup with Johnson.

If the fight remains standing, I think its only a matter of time before Johnson gets the better of Koscheck with his striking and kick game. I’m not sure that Johnson can score another quick knockout like he is prone to do, but he should able to batter Koscheck on the feet and in the clinch.

The real deciding factor, in my mind, is whether or not Johnson can use his size advantage to keep from being dominated on the ground. Johnson can’t stop Koscheck from taking him to the ground, it’s just a matter of whether or not he can get back up or tie up Koscheck once the fight hits the mat.

I’d love to pick Johnson in this fight, and I really think he stands the better shot at victory, but I’ve gotta go with my gut in this fight and take the safe bet in Koscheck.

Winner: Josh Koscheck

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now. I just do not understand the infatuation Zuffa seems to have with Amir Sadollah. The way Sadollah is promoted and used for marketing and promotion within the UFC baffles me.

Sadollah has two professional fights to his credit, a victory over C-Level fighter CB Dollaway and a loss via TKO against Johnny Hendricks at UFC 101.

We are all familiar with Phil Baroni and know what to expect from him. Baroni has been an up-and-down fighter throughout his career, never putting together more than a three-fight win streak. To his credit, Baroni has fought a lot of top-level talent and has definitely improved over time.

In this matchup, I think this is one of the few times that I can legitimately say Phil Baroni outclasses his opponent. Baroni holds a huge advantage on the feet, and Sadollah must prey and hope that he can get the fight to the ground and keep the much stronger Baroni down if he doesn’t want to get his head caved in.

Winner: Phil Baroni

Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – “Lil’ Nog” joins his brother and former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC and his first matchup isn’t going to be an easy one.

Nogueira has bounced around as of late fighting in Affliction, Sengoku and Jungle Fights in his native Brazil since the fall of PrideFC. Nogueira has a solid striking game and top submission came and will be a fun addition to the UFC’s light heavyweight ranks.

In my book, Luiz Cane is one of those fighters who truly has a shot at being the next big star in the light heavyweight division. Cane would be undefeated had he not been disqualified for an illegal knee to a downed opponent in his fight against James Irvin at UFC 79.

After the DQ loss, Cane easily rolled through Jason Lambert and Rameau Sokoudjou before grinding out a somewhat unimpressive victory against Steve Cantwell at UFC 97.

I see both fighters looking to stand and trade strikes in this fight and I don’t expect much work on the ground. At this point in both fighters careers, I think Cane has the quicker hands, better footwork and more power and wins this fight.

Winner: Luiz Cane

Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett – I think it’s impossible to know what kind of state Karo Parisyan will show up for a fight these days. Is he physically in shape? Is he mentally in shape? Are his panic attacks under control?

In my mind, none of that will really matter in this case however as I think Dustin Hazelett will pull of some kind of submission and send Parisyan further down into the depths of his mental abyss.

Winner: Dustin Hazelett

Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis – Winner: Marcus Davis
Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt – Winner: Jake Rosholt
Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann – Winner: Paulo Thiago
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster – Winner: Brock Larson
Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes – Winner: Caol Uno
George Sotiropolous vs. Jason Dent – Winner: George Sotiropolous

Props: MMAWeekly

Quoteworthy:

“I know I’ve lost two matches. I still think I can beat him, and I still think that’s a big fight. I still want that fight. That would be awesome. I think if I call him out enough times I think he’ll be a man and step up. Why wouldn’t he? That’s a huge fight and a big payday for him. It will be good. I think we can see one more. Why not? I’m down. I’m always game. You know me, I’m not afraid to fight anyone, even though there was a picture that was painted a long time ago that wasn’t true. I’ve fought him twice already. I’m not afraid. He already proved he’s not my friend, so the hell with it. I’ve got nothing to lose. Lets make some money, and this time I’m going to kick his ass.”

One time UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is still hoping to one day avenge his two losses to fellow former headliner Chuck Liddell. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is coming off major spinal fusion surgery to correct a back problem that plagued him in his most recent bouts. His last appearance was in May 2008 — a unanimous decision loss to now 205-pound champion, Lyoto Machida. Does a UFC 106 win over Forrest Griffin propel him back into the title hunt? Or would any fans out there rather see him tangle with “The Iceman” for a third time instead?

To check out the latest UFC 106: “Ortiz vs. Griffin 2″ fight card and rumors click here.

Props: Los Angeles Times

Quoteworthy:

“From low tide to high tide…. You figure in losing the title [to Evans] that Forrest has doubt; he had doubt against Silva. This is all or nothing for him. And this is my comeback fight. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a challenge for me. Not pain. I have no [back] pain, but I’m dealing with the fatigue from not fighting so long. I’m like 80 to 90 percent now, not 100. Coming back is hard mentally and physically. So even though I won’t be going anywhere — I have five fights left on my contract — it’s kind of do or die for both of us. But I promise I’m going to get in there and entertain. I can’t wait…. [The first fight] might have been a split-decision, but I thought I won. Look at my face after the fight, and look at his, and you’ll also see my hand was raised afterward…. Two former champions. A lot of fans hate Forrest now after the Silva fight, but he usually brings it, and I always come to fight. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been surviving for 12 years. I know how to do this.”

Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz talks about his upcoming rematch with Forrest Griffin in the UFC 106 main event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. Ortiz and Griffin earned top billing when it was recently revealed that box office behemoth, heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, was forced off the card unexpectedly because of an illness. The promotion will now look to “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who is one of the best in the business when it comes to promoting his own fights, to keep the interest alive in what likely would have been one of the biggest UFC event’s of the year. Can Ortiz — who has not competed since mid 2008 and is coming off major back surgery — put UFC 106 on his shoulders and make it a success? Or is the pay-per-view (PPV) event now destined to disappoint?

With the recent news that Mark Coleman was off the UFC 106 fight card with an MCL injury, the hunt began for an opponent to face Tito Ortiz in his return to the Octagon (for the second time).

According to Kevin Iole, former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Giffin will take Coleman’s place and get a chance at avenging his loss to Ortiz back at UFC 59

Griffin most recently fought at UFC 101 this past August where he lost to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva via first round KO. Griffin has taken some heat for darting from the Octagon following the loss and his failure to speak about the fight in any serious manner.

Ortiz, of course, has not fought since losing via decision to current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 84. During his time off, Ortiz had spinal surgery to repair a back injury that had been bothering him for several years.

In my opinion, this is a dangerous fight for Griffin. Griffin was extremely close to winning his first matchup against Ortiz, and will desperately need a win in this fight as he is coming off back to back losses. Griffin is 4-4 in his last eight fights, and while he undoubtedly will always have a home in the UFC regardless of record, his fight status and reputation depend on an above 500 record.

If Ortiz truly is back to 100% and can put together some of his previous successes, he could easily defeat Griffin again and we could end up seeing more “run Forrest, run” clips following UFC 106.