Ortiz Squares Off with Hamill at UFC 121

Tito Ortiz set to fight Matt Hamill at UFC 121 in Anaheim

Former “Ultimate Fighter”  protégé Matt Hamill will be having one of the biggest fights of his career when he squares off with his mentor Tito Ortiz at “UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez” on October 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ortiz, who will be appearing on his first fight after being sidelined for a year, announced his decision through a video clip in which he was seen inking the agreement to face Hamill.

“Matt, I’m sorry. Business is business though” said Ortiz, who coached Hamill on “The Ultimate Fighter 3” in 2006.

“It sucks, but this is business. I had another friend who was close to me and I ended up losing a friendship over it, so I’ve come to realize that anybody at 205 pounds can’t be my friend. This is business, strictly a business,” Tito added.

Tito Ortiz underwent neck surgery on March and it remains to be seen if he still has some gas left on his tank. The 35-year old Ortiz hasn’t won a match in four years, but he vowed reclaim the 205-pound title and for him, there’s no other way to start his bid, but to face the best fighter available.

“I just want to get the best fights possible. I got to look forward for my career. [I want to get] the world title around my waist and the only way to do that is to fight the people UFC put in front of me.” Ortiz said.

“UFC made the decision, I was bummed, I love Matt, I think he’s an awesome athlete and he’s an awesome person,” he added.

Hamill, who is a former collegiate wrestling champion, will try to extend his UFC four-game winning streak and his 11^th overall. The 33-year old Ohio-native only dropped two matches in his UFC career, against Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Saturday July 31 2010, 11:42 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0