Tito Ortiz Signs With Affliction, To Debut Against “Babalu” At Affliction 2
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has signed with Affliction and will debut with the promotion at Affliction 2 on October 11th against former UFC light heavyweight challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral, according to Yahoo! Sports:
Sources tell Yahoo! Sports that the Oct. 11 date has been submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and that the first two fights named on the card are Fedor Emelianenko versus Andrei Arlovski, and the Ortiz-Babalu fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Roy Englebrecht will be the licensed fight promoter for the card.
Yahoo! Sports spoke with Affliction VP Tom Atencio who would not confirm the Ortiz-Babalu fight saying that details for the fight card will be released during an Aug. 6 press conference most likely in Las Vegas. Atencio also indicated that he didn’t think Affliction could speak with Ortiz until Aug. 4. Ortiz had a 60 day non-compete in his UFC contract. His last fight for UFC was on May 24 at UFC 84. If the 60 day clause is accurate, the deal ended this past weekend. Atencio said the biggest stumbling block for an Ortiz deal are the financial terms.
Ortiz (15-6-1) fulfilled his contract with the UFC in May with a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has failed to win his last three bouts and has not posted a victory since a late-2006 win over Ken Shamrock.
Sobral (30-7) dropped back-to-back bouts in the UFC against Chuck Liddell and Jason Lambert but bounced back with a submission win over David Heath at UFC 74. The win, however, sent “Babalu” out of the UFC as he initially refused to release the choke and was subsequently fined and released by the UFC. Sobral won his third-straight bout at Affliction “Banned” with a unanimous decision victory over Mike Whitehead.
Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Affliction news and Affliction rumors.
AAHHHH TITO!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
I DONT WANNA SEE HIM IN AFFLICTION!!!
WISH HE COULD HAVE STAYED IN THE UFC…
BUT HEY..
I SEE HIM BEING SUBMITTED BY BABALU!!!
LETS SEE HIM GO TO THE ELITE XC..
THEN LET KIMBO DROP WEIGHT TO FIGHT TITO!?!?!
ANYBODY!?!?!!?
LOL
is he moving up to heavyweight cuz theres like 2 lhws in affliction so unless he fights 2 fights and moves on it sounds like a stupid move but well see wat other lhws they sign
huertarogerhuerta - No, he and Sobral with fight at light heavyweight but, as you said at the end of your comment, the key to the signing is what other light heavyweights thay can pick up. The problem for Affliction, and every other promotion, is that 205 is the UFC’s marquee division and they hold nearly all of the best fighters.
The other question mark right now is whether Ortiz’s contract is exclusive and how many fights is it for.
A Sobral-Ortiz matchup is a very intriguing, however, it’s just surprising it took this long for it to happen. It’s a pretty smart move for Affliction to sign Tito for their Las Vegas debut because even though he doesn’t have a good record of late he remains a draw with a large fanbase.
Why does affliction not pick up one of my Favorite Fighters. Ricardo Arona he is a LW and a good 1 at that
What’s going on with Arona? Who is he under contract with now?
I would be shocked if Sobral-Ortiz ended in anything but a decision win.
Hopefully a new organization wakes Tito up, he has looked disinterested and washed up in his last 3 fights. Not to mention the stream of urine that flowed down his leg when he was in the cage with Liddell.
i get the feeling that this is more just an F U to Dana white than it is the need to compete. If it’s not that, then i kinda think Tito’s an idiot cuz he’s already making a killing doin stuff outside of the cage and he’s not getting any younger so why not focus more on the stuff that pays you well and keeps you safe. what else is left to prove? he’s a former world champ, he’s flipped off dana, he’s banging a pornstar and he’s a millionaire all before his 35th birthday. i don’t buy that he has that crazy drive to compete just based on his last couple of fights. i like the guy but i hope he’s not gonna end up like shamrock.
GO TITO!!!!
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE TITO KICK BABALU A$$
its a good move on Affliction’s part to get him on board with them he is like kimbo, for some reason he gets people to watch him, Loss or cheer him on. either way they tune in, but he really needs to start winning some fights or he will follow in shamrock’s path, fighting well beyond your skill and talent just not calling it quits making your fighting record worthless. if he losses this fight call it a day tito! or lol join strikeforce
tito and arlovski are big names that are gonna draw vegas fans because they recognize those names
….if affliction could sign arona or make a deal with showtime or someone they could start up some good fights
I think most people on this board saw this coming. I wonder if he gets to wear his own clothes into the ring? Even though Sobral is better right now I bet Tito has the belt by NYE.
Not a huge surprise, nor is it of major significance. Apart from those mismatched bouts against a washed up Ken Shamrock, Tito’s last few fights prove he’s past his best.
im a big fan of tito, when i got into the ufc he was top dog so i guess i cant look at him has washed up, i no hes never going to fight under dana again so i hope we can get afffliction over here,
Vote if you think he’s lost it…Or just lost focus.
I think its a lack of focus because he was doing some pretty good gorund attack when he had to against Machida and that was the only place he had a chance. Sparring with Razor Rob would never cut it against Machida nor would a simple 12 week camp. It would take him 2 years minimum to stand with Machida or Chuck for that matter and there are too many distractions for him in the 3 month time frame.
affliction should try and make their own stars instead of scrapping the yester year stars of the ufc
tito is washed up
Tito finally gets to fight for a company who puts the fighters first. I know this will disappoint the UFC nut riders but who cares, it’s time to move on. All you Tito haters take it easy. Just because your girlfriends would probably do him, don’t mean you gotta hate on him. You the same bunch of clowns yellin’ “Go Jardine!”.. lmfao
Does this mean that Affliction is hiring a bunch of old men for Tito to beat up? that seems to be the only thing he’s good at….Shamrock is his only convincing win in the last three years.
How much of an influence does Trump have on the organization?Trump was pretty fond of Tito on “celebrity” apprentice. maybe it’s as simple as that. and of course the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$…lots and lots of it too.
I’m not sure how much influence Trump has on the organization as a whole but his relationship with Ortiz surely helped them sign him.
NICE… BUT EITHER WAY ITS A LOSS FOR THE UFC. PEOPLE ALWAYS BOUGHT THE UFC CARDS IF TITO WAS ON IT. PEOPLE “LOVED” TO HATE TITO… BUT GOOD MOVE FOR TITO.
whats with everyone and jenna jamenson i wouldnt touch that..if she was the last woman on earth she is gross…..and im reminded of a saying from an episode of family guy..it would be like throwing a hot dog down a hall way…..gross!…….but ya i agree with joel B affliction should try to make there own stars by recruting tons of unknown fighters…and try to start just like the ufc did
oh and also this guy JOHN
john says:
Tito finally gets to fight for a company who puts the fighters first. I know this will disappoint the UFC nut riders but who cares, it’s time to move on. All you Tito haters take it easy. Just because your girlfriends would probably do him, don’t mean you gotta hate on him. You the same bunch of clowns yellin’ “Go Jardine!â€.. lmfao
….WOW…..JUST WOW…THAT HAS TO BE THE WORST STATMENT ON MMAFRENZY SINCE I PROCLAIMED IRVIN WOULD WIN BY KO IN THE FIRST AGAINST SILVA
I said it before and still mean it. I am afaid Tito is going to get a big pay day and feel he is bigger than the sport. Affliction is acting irresponisble, clueless and stupid as far as fighter salary and future good of the sport go.
This fight is long over due. How Dana never matched these two fighters together in the UFC is the biggest question I have. Ortiz is washed up and Babalu is inconsistant. Vera/Arloski should have happened too, but never to be seen. UFC needs to really look at the matches they are missing and llisten to the fans more.
Gunslinger,
You’re right….on both of your last posts. I’m laughing my ass off right now with that hot dog hallway comment.
Jenna is gross. She only make you think less of Tito.
Jwilly,
Dana is not the match maker and that is not the biggest question ever. You should write the UFC a letter convincing them to give us the matches you/the fans want. We’ll all thank you later.
babalu will beat tito but i doubt tito will mind as he will get overpaid so much. at least we wont have to listen to him **** about not getting paid enough.
i cant see nothing but a tito ground an pound win
is it be a the affliction 205 title fight? i think 5 rounds sounds better than 3 rounds for that fight… whos lil nogs next fight gonna be….
i wonder if affliction signed tito for other purposes? sure he’s got a big name and will draw some fans initially, but it seems pretty obvious to everyone that he’s past his prime and kind of boring these days. and i like the guy but i still gotta say that. my thinking is that maybe they took him on cuz of his abilities to get other fighters to come over from the ufc, wec, … he trains with alot of guys and he’s a pretty good business man. you think he isn’t talkin to rampage, rob mcculough (sp?), bisping, kongo…. about switching teams? and when i say switching teams i’m not talkin about turning gay, xept for bisping.
Tito’s fight with Machida was a joke. Machida ran from him the whole time. I don’t see why everyone thinks so highly of that guy. His style of stick and run is annoying. Saying Tito is washed up is a joke. UFC put him up against the best of the best his last 3 fights and he hung in there for each one. Actually, Tito has been fighting the best since day 1, aside from Ken Shamrock. I hope he destroy’s Sobral, but I think it will probably go to a decision as Sobral is another tough guy and I don’t see Tito knocking him out. As for Jenna, she will be by Tito’s side forever. He’s found true love and I hope to be that happy with someone someday.
I love Arona too but unfortunately I don’t think he has a well known name so they don’t want him as much as an Ortiz. I also think Crocop should get into affliction. He had a couple losses but I think flukes. He’ll be back.
2girls1cup,
Good point but the best fighters are in the UFC for the most part. The UFC could match the insane salary problems that Affliction is starting if they wanted to. Tito is going to get a million or so and he is past his prime….HAHAHAHA good for him. How do you figure Tito is a good business man? Personally I find him slightly stupid. Physically he is still a beast past his prime but non the less one bad ass mother f-er I would not want to cross. Did you know that “gay” Borat thing down in Arkansas involved Bisping? It’s true. He came up with the idea and wanted to be one of the 2 gay actors but it was a no go.
Hotdog—Hallway—School Lunch will never be the same….
im in shock people bashing the count again, i’ll have u no the count has 2 kids and his bird is pritty hot from what i can remember.
cant wait till the count kicks the sh*t out of leben then hendo then get the shot against silva and knock that S.O.B on his ass. RULE BRITANNIA
ive always enjoyed watching tito fight, although he looked pretty bad in his last fight. i hope he steps it up in his next fight against babalu
wow affliction will get better through recognizable names of UFC past….i say after this next ufc event..can anyone agree with me on this kind of fight card…Fedor/coutoure….a rematch of tito ortiz/vitor belfort…arlovski/barnett….i would love to see the return of shogun rua, mirko cro cop, and even Alistair Overeem at this event
wow affliction will get better through recognizable names of UFC past….i say after this next affliction event..can anyone agree with me on this kind of fight card…Fedor/coutoure….a rematch of tito ortiz/vitor belfort…arlovski/barnett….i would love to see the return of shogun rua, mirko cro cop, and even Alistair Overeem at this event…(sorry this is correction)
If pissbing ever fights hendo he will lose bad.
Furthermore that would really suck beacause there is a very badly kept secret that hendo will fight franklin next
Don’t care about tito signing other than to agree with 2girls… Tito will attract other ufc fighters to affliction.
If werdum did not have a major hard on for nog I bet he would switch org’s the way his title shot is being treated like arloski’s before he left.
In the end affliction will have a comparable 205 and a much better 225, cheers.
kouch,
without knowing too much about his business ventures, i said tito’s a good business man due to the fact that he’s got a clothing company that seems to be doing well, team punishment is probably pulling in some good money if he could afford to buy de la hoya’s old spot in big bear, and he was one of the few guys in the UFC to negotiate getting a percentage of the PPV money. without knowing him personally it’s a complete possibility that he’s a moron in the business world, but from what i’ve seen he looks to have a good head on his shoulders, or should i say a good giant gorilla head? haha.
I’m not sure how Tito would ever think he is “bigger than the sport.” I don’t see that happening. His ego has toned down quite a bit from days past since his losses to Liddell and Randy.
He actually IS a smart businessman and has taken Team Punishment and Punishment Atheletics to heights he never dreamed of.
Is he washed up? Well let’s see… Machida ran from him and did ZERO damage to Tito in the whole fight (vice versa as well because of the running), He actually WON against Rashad Evans if it wasn’t for the taken point. In fact people…he’s only lost to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell since 1999! Washed up? This fight will allow us to truly see. It’s a great matchup and has the makings for fight of the night should Sobral choose to stand up.
Let’s not forget who Tito’s beaten okay?
Here’s a list:
Vitor Belfort
Forrest Griffin
Wanderlei Silva
Evan Tanner
Guy Mezgar (in his prime)
Patrick Cote (who is now fighting for a championship)
Let’s not call him washed up yet guys… I’d say if he loses to Sobral and then his next fight he’s done.
But if he wins…..
I agree with 2girls. I think Tito is a very smart businessman. Or he has smart people that work for/with him that are busy making him look good. Either way, he is making money on it. So, good luck to him.
But his people need to warn him about the Hepatitis not washing off.
One other thing. Belfort, Silva, Tanner were all in their PRIME when they fought…so Tito does at least have good fight in him… let’s hope he brings it back out.
Don’t get me wrong, I used to dislike him but have changed my mind since Celebrity Apprentice. In fact, he did so well on CA that Trump and Tito are now close associates and do business together. What a great idea his agent had by putting him on that show.
Oh and I never commented on Miss Jameson. All I have to say is… I beat off to her when she was in her prime 10 years ago… unfortunately… she is NOT in her prime anymore and i’m married. I believe the term “Rode hard and put up wet” comes to mind.
But it does show Dana White’s complete lack of maturity to have made a special out of it. That guy holds a serious grudge and is in desperate need of toddler toys and baby bricks.
I think it’s so funny how he thinks Vegas is ‘his town’ and claims he ’sees everything.’ He thinks VERY highly of himself (as Tito once did) and hasn’t matured a bit in the last few years. Tito has.
i agree. i think i like dana slightly more than the general population, but i even have to admit that his antics with tito and the way he acts like a wannabe tough guy leave him open to attack. i think overall he’s done quite a bit for the ufc and mma, but this childish side that shows up from time to time could eventually be his undoing.
has anyone seen the ufc 86 in depth videos in one of them cant remember which one…but dana starts trash talking tito again…i thought the tito thing was over..but for some reason dana stilll hates him..they used to be like best friends
Just in Werdum Vs. Tomato Can at UFC 90 for the next heavyweight title fight.
Only problem is that he’ll probably have to wait till march to get the match.
I like werdum but it would be great to see him lose just to f’up the ufc heavyweight more than it already is.
WAR AFFICLTION!
I agree with Dannyboy ,Tito is not washed up and has beaten a who is of who….
Pluse Tito will be the LHW champ of Affliction
come 2009
ALL_VICTIM
I DONO ABOUT BEING A CHAMP. HIS TOP FIGHTER DAYS ARE OVER. I DON’T BELIEVE HES WASHED UP NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY ITS A LOSS FOR UFC OR I SHOULD SAY DANA WHIT. I HATE TITO BUT THAT IS WHY I STILL BOUGHT PPV AND WATCH EVERY CARD. AS SO DID 75% OF EVERYONE ELSE. HE USED TO BE DOMINATE AND I’LL GIVE HIM THAT. AND IT DOES SEEM LIKE HE HAS MATURED ALOT. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU TITO…
Tito is past his prime! I don’t care what anyone says. The “prime” Tito would have been able to take Machida down in the clinch. Machida may have a very defensive, counter active style but that is his opponents problem and job to figure out how to get inside to win. Tito may be the champ for Affliction by 2009 but what is it? A big f-n deal? UFC LHWs dominate and have a massive amount of talent in their division. It is going to be hard for Tito to prove his critics wrong while he is fighting guys in Affliction who were signed for name recognition not prime talent. All MMA fans with a little more knowledge than the average fan know Affliction is doing it’s best by signing former champs who are no longer top contenders because they are no longer a threat in the BIG picture……Arlovski and Fedor are exceptions. Maybe Barnett too. Elite has a few exceptions as well but all I am saying is Tito was signed more for his NAME than talent. Yes he is talented but out of his prime none the less.
If tito becomes champ he’ll lose his first defense to lil’ nog, hands down.
lil nogueira is a beast and that would be a great fight.
People here don’t seem to understand that Affliction doesn’t have belts or champions and that they’re goal isn’t necessarily that of putting divisions together. Their goal is to put together the best fights possible. The belt that Fedor won was the WAMMA belt, which is not a promotion but an umbrella organization designed to keep the sport honest and to pronounce champions and rankings regardless of what promotion you fight for. If you go to their website you’ll notice that they have UFC fighters ranked on there too, all of which hold the number 1 rankings in just about every weight class. I imagine they only give away belts in fights that they deem establishes a champion, and if the promotion under which that fight happens, allows them to. I think it goes without saying that Dana White and the UFC will not allow them to since they like to dictate what people think of their fighters.
Affliction is trying to break up a monopoly. They use UFc fighters to give themselves credibility.Its never about the sport when your own money is involved.
i think it was danny boy who posted a list of wins by tito. well most of those good wins came a long time ago and since 2001 when he beat sinosic by tko on cuts all of his wins have come by decision except for his 3 wins over shamrock.
im only posting this as you seem to have been selective in what you post. things like “He actually WON against Rashad Evans if it wasn’t for the taken point” are besides the point because if he hadnt held onto the fence for dear life he would of ended up in a bad spot and no one knows how the fight goes from there.
However i agree he is a good business man because now he gets the payday hes been whining about for so long. affliction needs tito a lot more than the ufc does because there is so much quality in the ufcs lhw division.
Belly he ended up on the ground anyway. He won that fight with Rashad.
wats wrong wit a decision unless he got those decisions by runnin away like machida and i dont think he did like ur tryin to take away from those wins when if u stop to think about it he went to decision wit vitor who at that time was in title contention, forrest who is now the lhw champ, cote whos now fightin for a belt and rashad who is also 1 fight away from a belt yea he went to decision wit them but those r 4 tough sumina****s right there
i think everyone needs to go to karate class or watch a karate tournament and then youll understand machida’s style….notice he hasnt lost yet….now tell what would have happened had lyoto stayed in front of tito when he got rushed every round..yes machida probably would have got tko’d but because he moved out of the way he won…plus he took down a great wrestler…i never thought i would hear people complain so much about a guy who uses his defense in a sport so he doesnt get hit…..i guess the goal of mma is to only come out and be a boxer…i guess we should call it box wrestling instead of mixed martial arts!
Machida’s style of stand up is the lay and pray of the ground and pound ,the Stalemate of grappling. Yes he his good at what he does but it is not good to see in the cage.
Tito is still up there with the best pluse he is Entertaining to see fight
I honestly believe that Tito will do fine. I think he just lost his desire to fight for Dana White. White’s a money grubbing whore, and Tito was just waiting for the time his contract expired to crank up the heat again when he signed with another company. You’ll see the old Jacob “Tito” Ortiz soon enough. Can’t wait to see his slap Babalu around!!
erm no he didnt dannyboy.
yo i was on wikipedia and i typed in ufc thinkin theyd have a link to all there events and this is wat it said
“UFC Hall of Fame inductees
(in the order inducted)
Royce Gracie (Inducted UFC 45)
Ken Shamrock (Inducted UFC 45)
Dan Severn (Inducted UFC 52)
Randy Couture (Inducted The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 Finale)
Mark Coleman (Inducted UFC 82)
Tito Ortiz (Inducted UFC 87)”
anyone kno if titos really goin in at ufc 87?