Tito Ortiz Signs with Affliction [Rumor]

Steve Cofield is reporting that it is almost a done deal that former long-time UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will be signing a contract with the Affliction promotion.

According to the report, Ortiz will fight Renato Sobral in a co-main event match on the next Affliction fight card, currently scheduled for October 11 in Las Vegas, NV.

Affliction vice president Tom Atencio would not confirm the Ortiz-Babalu fight. He said details for the fight card will be released during an Aug. 6 news conference that most likely will be held in Las Vegas.

Atencio also indicated that he didn’t think Affliction could speak with Ortiz until Aug. 4 because of a 60-day non-compete clause in Ortiz’s UFC contract. Ortiz’s last fight for UFC was on May 24 at UFC 84. If the 60-day clause is accurate, the deal ended last weekend. Atencio said the biggest stumbling block for an Ortiz deal would be the financial terms.

After the initial Affliction: Banned event, Sobral said he wanted to to fight Ortiz as his “dream fight.”

Affliction, along with EliteXC, has always been considered high in the running for Ortiz’s services after his contract with the UFC ended. Ortiz has maintained a relationship is Affliction co-partner Donald Trump and the relationship between Ortiz and the upstart promotion seemed like a natural fit.

Dr J

Posted: July 29th, 2008 5 Comments Categories: News
In 2003, Craig "Dr J" Jolicoeur began what would eventually become MMA HQ. Over the course of several years and several different websites, MMAHQ.com was established and quickly gained a loyal following. The original and current aim of MMA HQ is to provide up-to-date news and information in the world of mixed martial arts. Today, thousands of people get their MMA fix either directly through MMAHQ.com, or through its news feeds or associate websites every day. Tags: Affliction, Renato Sobral, Tito Ortiz

5 Comments
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1. bvrasp says:

   July 29, 2008 at 12:45 pm

   Doc any leade as to the possibility of Coleman vs Shogun this december in the UFC???

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   • Dr J says:

     July 29, 2008 at 12:55 pm

     I looked into it and made a few calls but haven’t gotten any info yet that would suggest its a “done deal.” There are rumblings of the fight possibly taking place on the end of year show, but not one heard anything that they wanted cited.

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     • bvrasp says:

       July 29, 2008 at 1:06 pm

       ah ok thanks Doc, i think this fight with Tito and Babalu will happen, it was either affliction or Tito starting his own promotion. He doesnt have the money or the knowledge to do something like that, i mean, Tito talks about alot of big moves but hes yet to make any. Hopefully he doesnt ask for like a million bucks to fight babalu, im thinking 250-300K.

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2. richard says:

   July 29, 2008 at 11:11 pm

   babalu will kick tito’s azzzzzz for sure

   Reply to this comment
   • bvrasp says:

     July 30, 2008 at 1:06 am

     Someone has to pick up Arona soon, hes been talking about the UFC for a while now, but i think Affliction would be good too. Its been over a year since Arona fought (in the last Pride) and if he doesnt get on board somewhere soon hes just gonna completely fall off the map.

     Id love to see Babalu vs Arona, that be like 10 times better fight than Babalu and Tito.

     Titos done man, and im not just syaing that cuz im not a Tito fan, im a Hughes fan and i have to admit hes done too. They have basically the same fighting style, it used to work like a charm, but the sport has passed them by..

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