The former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz has officially re-signed with the UFC and is expected to return to the octagon later this year.
Ortiz last fought back in May of 2008 when lost via a unanimous decision to Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 84. Months after his loss, he underwent back surgery to heal the injuries he suffered during training sessions and some of his last few bouts.
During his recovery time, he talked with various MMA promotions in a goal to sign with a different organization other than the UFC. The bad blood between Ortiz and UFC President Dana White escalated, which made the Huntington Beach Bad Boy to look through other organizations in a goal to find a new home. One year and change later, Ortiz “came to ammends” with White and signed a fight contract. He also stated that he plans retiring with the UFC sometime down the road.
Rumors state that his first fight in the octagon will be a 205-pound fight against Mark “The Hammer” Coleman later this year. Either way, welcome back Tito…
Snip from Tito himself:
“Time really cures everything…Dana came to me and was a man of his word. Me and Dana made up…For me, personally, it’s about the competition…Financially and everything, I’m OK. Competition was the biggest factor. If I fight for Strikeforce, who am I going to fight? The best fighters are in the UFC. I’m happy. You’ll never hear anything about money out of my mouth ever again…There’s no more pain, no more numbness going down my legs. Everybody in the light heavyweight division better watch out.”
