Ortiz vs. Shamrock still on??

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Ortiz suffers broken leg, will fight Shamrock in July anyway - 4/28/2006

by Michael DiSanto

 

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Talk about a rollercoaster ride.

 

Moments ago, Tito Ortiz left the doctor’s office in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California and finally got the official word as to the extent of his myriad of injuries suffered before and during his fight with Forrest Griffin at UFC 59 back on April 15. He called InsideFighting to break the news.

 

“The news is good and bad,” Ortiz told InsideFighting. “The good news is that my ACL is healing well. There are no serious tears. And my LCL is only stretched, so that will be fine, too. As for the bulging discs in my back, they’ve given me some anti-inflammatory pills and might go the route of a cortisone shot. That treatment plus some rest and I’ll be fine.”

 

And the bad?

 

“I suffered a broken leg when I checked a kick,” he admitted. “I fractured the fibula in my left leg. But the doctors said that it will be fully healed in four-to-six weeks.”

 

Unfortunately, the injuries guarantee that Ortiz won’t be able to compete at UFC 61 on July 8.

 

“I can’t fight in July because there won’t be enough time after my injuries heal to get into top shape,” he explained. “I would love for Zuffa to hold Ken Shamrock until August and let us fight at UFC 62. I’d definitely be ready to fight by then. But I know they won’t postpone the fight. They’re going to give him to Forrest Griffin instead.”

 

In fact, UFC President Dana White already announced that he is going to substitute in Griffin for the injured Ortiz against Shamrock on July 8. So that begs the question: If Tito could play matchmaker, who would he choose to fight next?

 

“I would prefer to fight Shamrock because there has been a ton of buildup for the fight,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve wanted for a long, long time. But Forrest is going to beat him in July and that will be the end of Ken Shamrock. That’s not all bad, though. I definitely want a rematch with Forrest so I can show the world how badly I’ll beat him when I’m healthy. So I want a rematch with Forrest Griffin in my next fight.”

 

Fifteen minutes after receiving that call, Ortiz called InsideFighting back with a massive exclusive update.

 

“It really came down to the fact that I’ll be 100 percent healed in four-to-six weeks and will have six weeks to train for Shamrock,” Ortiz said in a shocking revelation. That’s enough. I’ll be ready. I got home and decided that I don’t want to let the money go from a Shamrock fight, so I called Dana White and made his year. He was pumped when he heard that I’m willing to fight Shamrock on July 8, even though I have a broken leg. I just want to get back in there after the Griffin fight and give Shamrock a beating.”

 

But the broken leg?

 

“I’ll be ready,” he insisted. “I’ll let my leg heal and then will do my road work for six weeks and get into great shape. The broken leg isn’t as bad as a torn ACL would have been.”

 

Needless to say, Ortiz sounded down and upset when InsideFighting spoke with him multiple times over the last few days. But he was completely upbeat and excited in this last conversation, one where he delivered the news with conviction and purpose.

 

“This is the life of a fighter,” Ortiz laughed. “It’s an emotional rollercoaster. But I’m fighting Shamrock in July. I made my decision. I told Dana just a few minutes ago. It’s happening. What it really comes down to is being mentally strong. I’m excited. I really want to fight Shamrock. I don’t want to give that fight to Forrest, so I’m going to fight him no matter what.”

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

Sensational... Should be the most exciting 90 seconds of July

[Lei Tong 0]

I just remembered that Sakuraba TKO'ed Ken.

 

The pressure's really on for Tito to kill him inside a minute.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

I still say they should have this match in TNA, these two are born pro wrestlers, well, Shamrock was a better pro wrestler than he is an MMA fighter now, and it'll be less wear and tear, and Tito can cut a promo, and this would make a great cross promotion. Does Florida allow MMA?

[Lord of The Curry 0]

See, I told you we should've installed motion detectors in this folder so when a WWE Folderite comes in we'll know........

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I still say they should have this match in TNA, these two are born pro wrestlers, well, Shamrock was a better pro wrestler than he is an MMA fighter now, and it'll be less wear and tear, and Tito can cut a promo, and this would make a great cross promotion. Does Florida allow MMA?

 

Shamrock and Tito Ortiz having a fixed fight isn't possible.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

See, I told you we should've installed motion detectors in this folder so when a WWE Folderite comes in we'll know........

Are you referring to me?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Florida has legalized MMA and the UFC ran a show there a few years ago (UFC 42 - Hughes vs. Sherk as the main). It was near-disaster, though. The fans weren't very responsive and I don't think the gate did very well. Needless to say, they never went back.

 

I don't see any reason why the UFC and TNA can't work together, since they share the same tv block. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock going face to face in the Impactzone, then tagging with a TNA guy respectively for a tag match would be fun. But like the article said, Tito is healing from an injury and doesn't have a ton of time to train after recovery.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Florida has legalized MMA and the UFC ran a show there a few years ago (UFC 42 - Hughes vs. Sherk as the main). It was near-disaster, though. The fans weren't very responsive and I don't think the gate did very well. Needless to say, they never went back.

 

I don't see any reason why the UFC and TNA can't work together, since they share the same tv block. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock going face to face in the Impactzone, then tagging with a TNA guy respectively for a tag match would be fun. But like the article said, Tito is healing from an injury and doesn't have a ton of time to train after recovery.

 

You honestly think Tito and Shamrock can have a fixed match?

 

That would be a good idea, to hype another main event, but I think things will get too rough with Tito and Ken.

 

They should use that idea for GSP/Hughes 2.

[Lei Tong 0]

Florida has legalized MMA and the UFC ran a show there a few years ago (UFC 42 - Hughes vs. Sherk as the main). It was near-disaster, though. The fans weren't very responsive and I don't think the gate did very well. Needless to say, they never went back.

 

Well, there was also the fact that Hughes was hardly a very popular champion at the time, and Sherk was a relatively unseen challenger with a reputation for being boring. Also, a couple of lackluster undercard performances (Romie gassing about a minute in, Alavarez showing nothing and Correira not much more) didn't help matters.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Yeah, it was a weak card), definitely, and things are vastly improved across the country in regards to MMA popularity. Still, they got burned on that first Florida show. I recall Dana talking about some of the territories he'd want to explore - Mexico, Texas, Canada - I can't recall if Florida was one of them or not.

 

Tito/Ken would be in a tag match, and the match would mainly be centred around Ken/TNA worker 1/TNA worker 2 - because Tito is not a trained pro wrestler. Titos partner gets beatdown, Titos main action is making the same and throwing Kens partner around until Tito and Ken go face to face for a brief moment and then it breaks up.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Dana White has always tried to stay as far away from Pro Wrestling as he could in terms of legitimizing the sport. While he will borrow certain techniques Pro Wrestling is known for, such as building grudge matches and making big announcements, he has always expressed that he hate pro wrestling. With MMA this close to being mainstream, it would hurt the sport more than help to group it in with its retarded redneck cousin, pro wrestling.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I think the benefits would outweight the negatives. One, it would help build TNAs audience. Two, it would help the relationship between Spike and UFC (not that it is hurting right now, but it would be a nice gesture from the UFC to Spike to help another Spike show out). Three, it would give the MMA audience something cool and rare to see. Four, it would help get over whomever would be associated with the UFC guys. It's not like TNA is the WWE here, where it is seen by millions and millions of people who may not even know what the UFC is, and therefore create a the negative pro wrestling stigma around the UFC. It's with TNA, who is already grouped with the UFC in both Thursday Night Knockouts and Must Bleed TV and whatever SPIKE is calling it. It would just be something fun for the audiences of both shows.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

The reason I proposed that idea is because Ken is just too beaten up and hurt, I think, to really have a great fight, and well, Tito is arrogant to no end, and he can do pro wrestling style crazy stuff like he did at 51, and I just don't see him as a really great fighter, unless he's really gotten his groove back since then, and if so, I take it back, but I'm behind on my UFC. I think the tag match idea would work, and it'd be a really nice thing for a special, or perhaps a mixed show

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Shamrock is probably healthier now than he was when they fought at UFC 40.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Yeah, it was a weak card), definitely, and things are vastly improved across the country in regards to MMA popularity. Still, they got burned on that first Florida show. I recall Dana talking about some of the territories he'd want to explore - Mexico, Texas, Canada - I can't recall if Florida was one of them or not.

 

Tito/Ken would be in a tag match, and the match would mainly be centred around Ken/TNA worker 1/TNA worker 2 - because Tito is not a trained pro wrestler. Titos partner gets beatdown, Titos main action is making the same and throwing Kens partner around until Tito and Ken go face to face for a brief moment and then it breaks up.

 

I'd love it if they'd come to Texas, plus I have a feeling that'd they'd do pretty good business here. Shoot, my friends and I are going to go on the road to LV when storm season is over (insurance work lets me travel a bit) if there's a card going on.

[starvenger 0]

Dana White has always tried to stay as far away from Pro Wrestling as he could in terms of legitimizing the sport. While he will borrow certain techniques Pro Wrestling is known for, such as building grudge matches and making big announcements, he has always expressed that he hate pro wrestling. With MMA this close to being mainstream, it would hurt the sport more than help to group it in with its retarded redneck cousin, pro wrestling.

To be honest, I think that it's BETTER to be grouped with pro wrestling. Why? Because otherwise you're probably grouped with boxing, and Lord knows the promoters and organizations for that sport is more cutthroat than McMahon could ever hope to be. Never mind that many of these organizations are a mess right now - they'll find a way to bury MMA and it won't be a botched effort on a 20th rate show like Deutchbags...

[Hawk 34 0]

I just wonder who you could pair Ortiz and Shamrock with in TNA. Obviously, you can't use Jarrett because that just wouldn't fit and it would be a waste of time.

 

Do you use Samoa Joe who could really shine to the MMA crowd that would check it out? Do you use a more established name like Steiner (who has the old rep of being a crazy stiff brawler)? I could see this working as TNA Impact! main event the thursday before the fight if it happens. Just adds extra build and UFC can hype TNA's next ppv during the show.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Seriously, I honestly doubt Ortiz/Shamrock could work a fixed fight, because of their hatred for each other. Even if the hatred is fake, and they are all just playing with everyone with the MMA fans, doing this will only expose it.

 

Save this idea for GSP/Hughes, and have GSP pair up with Team Canada.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Fuck that. GSP/Hughes is perfectly written as is. No adjustments needed.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Fuck that. GSP/Hughes is perfectly written as is. No adjustments needed.

 

Shamrock/Tito has more of a story then GSP/Hughes...

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I'd debate that one. Longer history, yes not really more of a story. It's basically Tito beats Mezger, Tito pisses off Lions Den, Ken steps up, Tito stomps Ken, Ken wants rematch. Pretty simple.

 

GSP vs Hughes had their first encounter where GSP gave Hughes more trouble then Matt would probably be willing to admit (though I don't think he owned him like some would say). St. Pierre's journey back to the top of the WW division is one of the best stories in MMA history, period. The Miller fight was a good kickoff because it allowed the world to see the skills of GSP and his dominance. The story doesn't really begin, however, until we get to Frank Trigg.

 

The beauty of St. Pierre's story is that it increases in depth with each fight. With Trigg he faced the #2 WW in the company and a Top Five in the world at that time. A man who'd given Hughes trouble in the past and come very close to finishing. And GSP just steamrolls him like it's nothing. Rogan's comment during the fight about how Trigg looks like an amateur compared to GSP hits the nail on the head. After this fight a lot of people assumed another title shot was on the horizon. Enter Sean Sherk, the man Matt Hughes couldn't finish.

 

And St. Pierre finishes him in a fairly brutal and bloody fashion after tooling him for the entire length of the fight. It was almost a gimme that with this victory under his belt we'd see GSP finally get his rematch. The problem was that a certain pudgy lil fella from Hilo came back at this same event and with that we get the second-last chapter in the St. Pierre/Hughes saga.

 

This fight, IMO, was the most important of GSP's career. The fans were fairly split on this one with the division being that the old hat fans were anticipating BJ putting a hurtin' on GSP and the newer fanbase firmly behind Rush. St. Pierre surived a first round where he came out looking worse then we'd ever seen him before and many (including myself) questioned whether he'd survive the fight, much less finish it. The next two rounds will always be subject to much debate but what's not debateable is that GSP proved himself worthy of a shot with his victory over BJ Penn. I've no doubt that when GSP beats Hughes for the belt that we'll see him and BJ go at it again and I look forward to it.

 

I'll take this over Tito/Ken any day of the week and ironically enough it was Tito vs Ken @ UFC 40 that got me into MMA.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I'd debate that one. Longer history, yes not really more of a story. It's basically Tito beats Mezger, Tito pisses off Lions Den, Ken steps up, Tito stomps Ken, Ken wants rematch. Pretty simple.

 

GSP vs Hughes had their first encounter where GSP gave Hughes more trouble then Matt would probably be willing to admit (though I don't think he owned him like some would say). St. Pierre's journey back to the top of the WW division is one of the best stories in MMA history, period. The Miller fight was a good kickoff because it allowed the world to see the skills of GSP* and his dominance. The story doesn't really begin, however, until we get to Frank Trigg.

 

The beauty of St. Pierre's story is that it increases in depth with each fight. With Trigg he faced the #2 WW in the company and a Top Five in the world at that time. A man who'd given Hughes trouble in the past and come very close to finishing. And GSP just steamrolls him like it's nothing. Rogan's comment during the fight about how Trigg looks like an amateur compared to GSP hits the nail on the head. After this fight a lot of people assumed another title shot was on the horizon. Enter Sean Sherk, the man Matt Hughes couldn't finish.

 

And St. Pierre finishes him in a fairly brutal and bloody fashion after tooling him for the entire length of the fight. It was almost a gimme that with this victory under his belt we'd see GSP finally get his rematch. The problem was that a certain pudgy lil fella from Hilo came back at this same event and with that we get the second-last chapter in the St. Pierre/Hughes saga.

 

This fight, IMO, was the most important of GSP's career. The fans were fairly split on this one with the division being that the old hat fans were anticipating BJ putting a hurtin' on GSP and the newer fanbase firmly behind Rush. St. Pierre surived a first round where he came out looking worse then we'd ever seen him before and many (including myself) questioned whether he'd survive the fight, much less finish it. The next two rounds will always be subject to much debate but what's not debateable is that GSP proved himself worthy of a shot with his victory over BJ Penn. I've no doubt that when GSP beats Hughes for the belt that we'll see him and BJ go at it again and I look forward to it.

 

I'll take this over Tito/Ken any day of the week and ironically enough it was Tito vs Ken @ UFC 40 that got me into MMA.

 

I don't want to get into arguement on which is a better story, because quite frankly that is personal opinion.

 

But the fact remains the Tito/Shamrock story has more mainstream appeal as it is, and is a bigger fight for the mainstream audience, because of the hatred these two have for each other. No need to risk things with this TNA crap, because if their hatred is legit, it would be a huge risk to have a fixed fight. Things could go wrong, and not only that, people will start saying that the whole fued is fixed, and that Tito and Shamrock played us.

 

GSP/Hughes 2 is the biggest fight for the true MMA fans, but Tito/Shamrock is the biggest fight for mainstream appeal(Well it's arguable between this and the Hughes/Gracie fight).

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Fine, no arguments or anything but I'm curious as to why you think Ken/Tito is a better story.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Fine, no arguments or anything but I'm curious as to why you think Ken/Tito is a better story.

 

Because like you, Tito/Ken got me into MMA, and I just love seeing Tito pissing off Ken, and Ken just exploding. Tito is more charismatic then both GSP and Hughes(GSP has alot of charisma though).