Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (23-7) will make his latest return to the octagon at UFC 121 when he fights Matt Hamill.  UFC 121 will be held on October 23 in Anaheim, Calif., and will feature a main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez in the UFC heavyweight title fight.

Ortiz, who coached Hamill during “The Ultimate Fighter 3,” applauded the still developing wrestler’s ability.

Ortiz last saw action at UFC 106 against Forrest Griffin, with Griffin winning a split decision.  In his last four UFC appearances, Ortiz has gone 0-3-1 — but it’s worth noting all four fights were to former UFC LHW champions.

Since his stint on TUF 3, Hamill topped Jesse Forbes, Seth Petruzelli, Rex Holman, Tim Boetsch, Reese Andy, Mark Munoz, Jon Jones, and Keith Jardine — and suffered losses to Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin.  Despite the Bisping loss, which many believe he lost due to home-field advantage, the only other blemish was to former MW champion Franklin in 2008.

Hamill seemed a bit hesitant to try to inflict damage on Franklin, and there is concern that this could happen again with Ortiz.  After their stint on the show, Hamill spent time training with Ortiz in Big Bear Lake, Calif.

It’s an interesting matchup because Ortiz greatly applauded Hamill’s strong wrestling and desire to solidify his MMA skills — and it will likely come down to wrestling dominance.  Ortiz, best known for his strong wrestling and ground-and-pound, has had an up-and-down battle against strong wrestlers.

Ortiz was unable to mount any strong wrestling-based fight strategies against Chuck Liddell (twice) and Randy Couture, but was able to beat the likes of Vladimir Matyushenko and fought to a draw with Rashad Evans.  If he’s unable to adequately strike with Hamill, it’ll be interesting to see if he is able to secure and keep takedowns in place.