Tito Ortiz Talks Return to the Cage

Tito Ortiz is once again claiming he’s close to returning to the cage. After flirting with Affliction and EliteXC for several months while contractual hold-ups with the UFC and back surgery kept him on the sidelines, he is now claiming that Strikeforce is looking like his new home … sorta.

Tito Ortiz - Image: Zuma Press

According to Tito Ortiz, he will be starting a new promotion with Strikeforce called Punishment Fighting Championships, which Tito will both manage and compete in. I have no idea how the hell that’s supposed to work, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the ‘new promotion’ is just a differently branded Strikeforce event which Tito gets a cut of the profits from. And that’s if the whole thing ends up happening at all – Tito has been known to talk out his ass on numerous occasions regarding unfinished business deals. Didn’t he learn anything from his time on Celebrity Apprentice?

As for the possibility of returning to the UFC, Tito has said it will never happen so long as Dana White is president of the UFC. I could write a novel about the bad blood between them, but suffice to say they’re not fans of each other. It is worth noting however that quite a few informed people are still betting on the Huntington Beach Bad Boy returning to the UFC in the end. Something to do with money talking and something else walking?

The good (or bad, depending on your opinion of Tito) news is that all signs point towards Tito returning to the cage by the end of the year. As unintentionally entertaining as he can be outside the cage, I’d rather see him fighting than talking any day.