Tito Ortiz has revealed to The Telegraph that he “begged the UFC for his job back” after he was jettisoned by the mixed martial arts organisation following his loss to Matt Hamill.
“Dana White and Joe Silva [the UFC's matchmaker] told me they wanted me to retire, but I knew I still had the fight inside me. I pretty much begged for my job, to show how much I want to fight, but I still have it in my heart to compete, to fight. I told them I want to still fight against the top guys, I want to put on a show.”
“I’ve just turned 36, but when they put me against the top guys, I think I can still compete.”
In fairness to Ortiz, he may not have won a fight since 2006, but he fought to a draw against Rashad Evans who won the world title a couple of fights later, and in that contest, he had a point taken away harshly. There was no warning of a transgression for holding onto the cage, and he had a point taken away immediately. Otherwise, he would have won that contest. Many felt he beat Forrest Griffin in his second fight, and he almost tapped out Lyoto Machida – and Machida went on to win the championship.
“Too bad people don’t pay attention to the major details. I’ve competed against the top guys and gone on to win world championships. I’m not getting submitted or knocked out…I’m making little mistakes where I should be submitting guys. I thought I beat Forrest Griffin 2 to 1 the second time. But it was what it was.”
“I made some mistakes against Hamill. I didn’t respect his takedown. The UFC called me after that fight and said ‘we want you to retire’. I was shocked, I thought they were kidding around. I took it as they didn’t want to pay me, to give me what I’m worth. I’m competing against the top guys and I’m not getting dominated. So, next month, I’ll be fighting one of the top guys in the world again, ranked in the top 3, and I’m going to show how much I’m really worth.”
“I’ve put in a great eight weeks in camp for Ryan Bader. I’m healthy and ready to compete.”
Listen to the full interview with Ortiz on tomorrow’s ESPN UFC Podcast. Follow Tito Ortiz on Twitter @TitoOrtiz.
Source: Tito Ortiz: I begged the UFC for my job back