Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz confirmed for UFC 121
Scrapping a previously rumoured rubber match against Forrest Griffin, Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz has been instead set to face a teammate and former protégé, Matt Hamill at UFC 121 on October 23.
Hamill’s introduction to mixed martial arts on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter was made on Tito’s team. During the course of the show, Ortiz took the younger fighter under his wing, giving him extra attention during practice. After Hamill was forced to leave the show due to injuries, he went on to join Team Punishment, Tito’s training camp in Huntington Beach.
Passing the torch?
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy holds a special place in the hearts of many longtime MMA fans who saw his dominance during the early years of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds wins over many other legends in their own right, including Frank Shamrock, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort. He currently holds the record for the most title defenses at the light heavyweight division, with five successful defenses over a four year period from 1999 to 2003.
While he holds one of the more impressive resumes in the history of the promotion, many have doubts as to whether Tito can still deliver the punishment he was once known for. Since losing the belt in 2003, Ortiz has had a lackluster record of 5-4-1. In addition, he has not won a fight since 2006. Hamill, by comparison, is currently on a four win streak.
The younger fighter has earned a record 8-2 since his signing with the UFC, including a controversial split decision loss to Michael “The Count" Bisping in Bisping's native London. His last fight saw him take a decision win over Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine, after which Jardine was cut from the UFC.
Stylistic Analysis
Both fighters use a combination of boxing for standup and wrestling for the ground. Tito is known as being one of the pioneers of the ground and pound style, which he used to great effect during his championship reign in the UFC’s early years. Hamill holds an impressive pedigree in wrestling, holding a gold medal from the 2001 Deaflympics in freestyle wrestling and a silver medal from the same competition in Greco-Roman wrestling. Ortiz started his wrestling career at Huntington Beach High School, winning fourth place in the state championships as a senior, and went on the win two state junior college championships during his studies at Golden West College.
Although neither are considered to be stand up specialists, both fighters have had their mettle tested on their feet. Hamill hold six out of his nine wins by knockout, and he also won Knockout of the Night honors at UFC 96 for a brutal head kick against Mark Munoz.
Injury Concerns
The increasingly important factor of ring rust is brought front and centre to this matchup. This will be Tito’s fourth fight in four years; it will be Hamill’s eighth. Neither fighter is famous for being well conditioned, but with Tito’s comparatively sedentary lifestyle Hamill could have a cardio advantage it gets past the first round. In his last fight against Griffin, after having split the first two rounds on two of the judges' scorecards Ortiz seemed to wilt in the third, offering nothing to counter an onslaught of punches and kicks from Griffin and lost the fight.
Ortiz has also been in surgery recently, citing a neck injury as his reason for pulling out of the Ultimate Fighter Season 11 earlier this year. If not fully recovered, it could limit Tito’s overall strength.
But even if he's past his prime, Tito still has the star power to make this fight a co-headliner.
The fight is set to be the co-headliner of the event, which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar, and will be broadcast live on Pay Per View.
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