TITO ORTIZ DEPARTS UFC WITH A LOSS

(KNOCKOUT NATION NEWS – May 25, 2008) Tito Ortiz had he right idea in mind. The legendary striker came out to Public Enemy's seminal hit "Fight The Power" and we knew he was going exit his last fight in the UFC with a bang.

Not to mention, his opponent Lyoto Machida emerged to the octagon to an electronic version of N*E*R*D*'s song, "Rock Star."

Saturday night at UFC 84 just wasn’t to be for Ortiz, 33, in front of a sold out crowd at the Las Vegas MGM Grand.

Ortiz, former light-heavyweight champion, made several unsuccessful attempts to take his 29-year-old adversary down, but Machida eluded the former Lightweight champ for most of the first round.

A left leg kick to the head began the shift the momentum slightly. Then suddenly, with 10 seconds left in the first round, Machida took Ortiz down and dominated him with a flurry of punches. It appeared that Ortiz was saved byt the bell ending the first round.

Through the second round, Machida picked his spots and shots and seemed to confuse Ortiz. at the end of the round, Ortiz beckoned his opponent to fight him. Ortiz had a cut over his right eye suggesting Machida was indeed fighting back. "He's running the whole time," Ortiz griped after round 2.

By the 4-minute mark of round 3, Ortiz and Machida engaged each other, which allowed Ortiz to get off with a bevy of body shots. Mostly clenched, Ortiz wasn't ever able to "fight the power" of his public enemy.

Then it happened at 1:31 in the third round - a knee to the liver dropped Ortiz. Visible shaken, a weakened Ortiz weathered a vicious storm of punches. "He kind of knocked the wind out of me for a second," Ortiz would later say.

On his back and the fight’s end nearing, Ortiz attempted a triangle chokehold, which turned into an arm bar, but Machida wriggled out of it.

"I'm gonna die, but I'm not gonna tap," Machida would later say in a post fight interview by the UFC.

Ortiz complimented his opponent.

"Machida is a great fighter, but when I had that submission, I thought I had him."

Ortiz said that his retirement was premature, that he just wouldn't be fighting with the UFC, the result of a dispute with UFC President Dana White.

"You guys are gonna see me a lot more," Ortiz said to the crowd. "Tito Ortiz is gonna be around no matter what."

The former champ left with a bang, as the fans cheered - just not the bang he wanted.

Ortiz's last victory was in October 2006.


- David Marker