Tito Ortiz explains why he wants third fight with Chuck Liddell

Earlier this month, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell announced his intention to emerge from an eight-year-retirement to make a comeback. While nothing is set in stone just yet, it sounds as though Liddell’s comeback fight will pit him against his former arch rival Tito Ortiz, probably in Oscar De La Hoya’s new MMA promotion.

Liddell and Ortiz have fought twice before, with Liddell winning both contests by stoppage. That being said, Ortiz feels he never got the opportunity to show the best version of himself against Liddell in the UFC.

“Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell III, the fight that all the fans wanted to see for the longest time and never got a chance to,” Ortiz said to TMZ Sports over the weekend (transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting). “I never got a fair shake when I was with the UFC against Chuck, any of the times I ever fought against him. Let’s do it under a different promotion. Let’s do it under Golden Boy Promotion. He has a great background in promoting fights, some of the biggest fights in the world, and he bit on it, hook, line, and sinker. He’s in. Let’s see if we can make some history here.”

Ortiz then gave a timeframe for this prospective bout, explaining that sometime in the fall would be best for him.

“I’m not exactly at the point where I can say where but when, October or November,” he said. “That way we have some time to promote. We’ll do a world tour – kind of go around to talk smack to build up the fight.”

Whenever the fight occurs, Ortiz expects to be in tip-top shape when the cage door closes. After all, he was fighting — and winning — under the Bellator banner a little over a yea ago.

“I only retired a year ago,” Ortiz said. “I got in the gym two weeks ago and let me tell you, I bounced back faster than I even imagined I could bounce back. I’ve always been in good shape, I take care of my body and I’ve got an opportunity to get redemption.

“Look at the history books. Randy Couture at the age of 43 won the heavyweight world title at the age of 43. I feel healthy. I have a great surgeon that put me together. I’m the million dollar man so let’s make a couple more million kicking Chuck Liddell’s ass. It’s gonna build. It’s gonna be the hugest fight in MMA history, just watch and see.”

Are you interested in Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell’s potential rematch?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/20/2018.