Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz Fires Back At His Haters Over Trilogy Fight
This past weekend UFC Hall of Famers and former UFC light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz 43 and Chuck Liddell 48 had their trilogy fight in the main headliner of Golden Boy’s inaugural MMA event. Ortiz finally got his revenge after successfully knocking out his longtime rival Liddell in the first-round from inside The Forum in Inglewood, California on pay-per-view (PPV).
Both Liddell and Ortiz fought twice previously in 2004 and 2006 at UFC 47 and UFC 66, respectively. ‘The Iceman’ came out victorious twice via KO/TKO.
This victory marked ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s’ fourth win in his last five bouts. Before that Ortiz fought in Jan. 2017 where he scored a first-round victory over Chael Sonnen under the Bellator banner. Meanwhile, 48-year-old Liddell, who has not fought professionally since 2010 and has not won since 2007.
At the conclusion of this fight, MMA community, media members and fighters criticize that this showdown shouldn’t have had happened at the first place as Liddell who didn’t compete since a string of knockout losses that forced his retirement back in 2010.
Ortiz took to Instagram on Monday and addressed his haters who have been lamenting on the fact that why this fight happened.
I’VE HAD SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS FIGHT VERSE @CHUCKLIDDELL HOW IT CAME TO BE? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CHUCK WANTED I WAS OK DOING MY BUSINESSES. HE CALLED ME OUT. YES I AGREE AND HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN WITH @GOLDENBOYBOXING . I TOOK THIS FIGHT VERY SERIOUS THAT’S WHY I PUT IN A 18 WEEK CAMP. 3X A DAY 6 DAYS A WEEK. I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING. I WAS WILLING TO PUT MY LIFE ON THE LINE. ONE YEAR AGO I HAD 3 LEVEL DISK REPLACEMENT IN MY NECK. PLUS 7 OTHER MAJOR SURGERIES SINCE 2009. BUT WAS STILL WILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAINST SOMEONE WHO BEAT ME TWICE BEFORE. THERE IS NOT QUIT IN ME. I HAVE MADE MISTAKES AND I HAVE LEARNED FROM THEM. THAT’S LIFE! I WANT TO FAIL SO I CAN LEARN TO BETTER MYSELF. I HAVE LIVED MY LIFE WITH UPS AND DOWNS BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY I KEEP LEARNING. I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD. HAVING EVERYONE SAYING WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING CHUCK AGAIN HE BEAT YOU TWICE? 1. HE CALLED ME OUT 2. I ALWAYS WANTED REDEMPTION. 3. I’M HERE TO PROVE MY FANS WERE RIGHT AND THE HATERS WERE WRONG. 4. AN OPPORTUNITY TO START A NEW ORGANIZATION THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF THE FIGHTERS AS THEY SHOULD BE. I SHOWED THE WORLD WHAT HARD WORK AND DEDICATION CAN GET YOU. I’VE NEVER BEEN SO NERVOUS BEFORE A FIGHT LIKE THIS ONE BUT I KNEW I WAS READY. THE MIND GAMES THAT CHUCK WAS PLAYING MADE ME WORK HARDER. SO THANK YOU CHUCK. I WAS IN A LOSE LOSE SITUATION BUT I WAS WILLING TO GAMBLE WITH MY HEALTH. CHUCK SAID HE WAS READY I KNEW I WAS READY, MAY THE BEST FIGHTER WIN. IN THIS CASE IT WAS ME. I NEED TO THANK ALL MY FANS,FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT SUPPORTED ME FOR THIS FIGHT. I COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU! I RESPECT CHUCK FOR STEPPING UP AND FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THE FIGHT. YOU’RE A CHAMPION AND HALL OF FAME LEGEND THAT BROUGHT THE BEST OUT OF ME! SORRY TO ALL YOUR FANS I WAS ON A MISSION. – TITO ORTIZ ON INSTAGRAM.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqqodLYn0QX/?utm_source=ig_embed
What do you think of this statement from Ortiz?
