Morning Report: Tito Ortiz says he ‘never got a fair shake’ against Chuck Liddell in UFC

Last week, Chuck Liddell announced he was coming out of an eight-year retirement to pursue a third fight with his long-time rival, Tito Ortiz, under the banner of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. It’s a fight that helps everyone involved out: De La Hoya wants to get into MMA promotion, Liddell wants to get back in the cage, and Ortiz wants a shot at redemption against the man who stopped him twice inside the octagon.

Redemption might not be the right word though, according to Ortiz. Over the weekend, Ortiz told TMZ Sports that part of the reason he wanted another crack at Liddell was that he believed he didn’t get “a fair shake” during either of their encounters inside 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. “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.”

Liddell and Ortiz have fought each other twice before, at UFC 47 and UFC 66, with Liddell stopping Ortiz with strikes on both occasions. Ortiz never explained how he was wronged against Liddell in those bouts but it likely has something to do with eye pokes, a foul Liddell became somewhat notorious for during his career. What he did say was that they are targeting a late fall date for the bout so Golden Boy Promotions can put together a world tour for the two former champions to build the fight.

“I’m not exactly at the point where I can say where but when, October or November,” said Ortiz. “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.”

If the fight actually does get booked, the bout surviving an extended world tour would be a minor miracle. Ortiz is 43 years old and retired from MMA last January and Liddell is 48 years old and retired from MMA in 2010 after suffering three brutal KO losses in a row. But though the advanced age of the two fighters might be cause for concern to some, Ortiz says that age is just a number and that when all is said and done, this will be the biggest fight in MMA history.

“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.”