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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Tito Ortiz lost to Matt Hamill at UFC 121 on Saturday night, dropping him to 0-4-1 in fights over the last four years. Ortiz's last victory came against a past his prime Ken Shamrock in the fall of 2006, and his UFC career may now be done.
Despite mending fences with UFC President Dana White and the organization last year, Ortiz has not had the results in the cage, and White hinted to ESPN's MMA Live that Ortiz could be on his way out.
"I think the fight tonight was [about] Tito Ortiz's relevancy in the light-heavyweight division," White said. "I don't know the exact number, but he's lost like four in a row. And I think we know what happens when you lose four in a row in the UFC. This is the big leagues, man."
Ortiz looked good in the early going of the fight, out-striking Hamill in the first round, but Hamill took the fight over in the second and third and bloodied Ortiz up while taking him down on multiple occasions as well. The win was Hamill's fifth straight - although the DQ against Jon Jones is a part of that - but it was yet another notch in the loss column for Ortiz.
"I don't think Tito looked horrible," White said. "I wouldn't say, 'Oh my God, Tito looked terrible tonight.' One of the things that is an absolute fact is I don't care who you are, how long you've been around, or who you've beat, you have to stay active in the fight game. If you do not stay active, it's hard to come back."
Ortiz's time as a draw has come to an end, and his time as a relevant light heavyweight, at least in the UFC's shark tank at 205 lb., may have come to an end as well.
Penick's Analysis: I would be really surprised if Tito actually does get tossed into another fight anytime soon in the UFC. He commands far too much money for the performances he's had, and although he may eventually be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, at this point the fact that he hasn't won in four years should mean he needs to pick up a win elsewhere. He's not going to be able to command the money he would have elsewhere prior to returning to the UFC last year, and he's not going to be a draw for another promotion that could use him to compete with the UFC as would have been two years ago. So at this point, the UFC gave him a chance and paid him well for two more fights, and he failed to get a win in either. It might just be time to cut ties.
[Tito Ortiz art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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