TOP 5
WHO: TITO ORTIZ
WHERE: BELLATOR – UNITED STATES
It was literally a lifetime ago
that TitoOrtiz and Silva met for
the vacant UFC light heavyweight
title. Ortiz won the contest by
unanimous decision after the pair
went five rounds, and that was the
start of Ortiz’s dominant run as the
UFC lightweight champion. Silva
went on to win the hearts of Japan,
as well as the PRIDE middleweight
championship. Their paths wouldn’tcross again with Silva going on to
fight in career-best form and with
Ortiz going on to never truly regain
his former glory.
With both fighters heading into
their twilight years, as competitors a
fight between them would certainly
interest fans of years gone by. Once
again, the impending legal issues with
the Nevada Athletic Commission could
very well end any hope of this fight
ever happening; however, it’s still a
fight that many around the world
would love to see.In his Bellator debut, Ortiz shocked
the world when he won his first fight
in almost three years. He defeated
Bellator’s middleweight champion
Alexander Shlemenko by first-round
submission and then backed that up
with a win over fellow UFC veteran
Stephan Bonnar. After losing to Liam
McGeary in a bout for the Bellator
lightheavyweight championship, Ortiz
has expressed his interest in taking
fights that would turn heads, and a
fight with Silva in particular would
undoubtedly do just that.WHY:
48 | FIGHT AUSTRALIA fightaustralia.com.au