UFC roundup: Four former champs set to return
Posted February 10, 2012 3:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A trilogy bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin is in the works, UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.
The matchup was announced on Twitter as Fertitta was answering fan questions late Thursday.
Ortiz and Griffin first met at UFC 66 where the veteran Ortiz beat rising star Griffin by split decision. The two fought again three years later at UFC 106 with Griffin coming out on top, also by split decision.
Ortiz (16-10-1) is coming off a TKO loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 in Toronto and has lost six of his last eight fights dating back to 2006. The 37-year-old has one fight remaining on his UFC contract and has stated that he intends to retire once he has fulfilled his contract, which would mean the proposed bout with Griffin would be his last in the Octagon. Ortiz specifically requested to fight Griffin for his farewell bout.
Griffin (18-7) is coming off a KO loss to Mauricio (Shogun) Rua at UFC 134 in Brazil in August. The 32-year-old has stated that he believes a third fight with Ortiz makes sense and he is willing to accept the challenge.
Nothing has been finalized and no specific date or event has been attached to this proposed bout.
HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS COLLIDE
Fertitta also revealed plans for former UFC heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir to meet.
Velasquez (9-1) is coming off a 64-second KO loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 in November. Velasquez originally won the title when he defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. Eight of Velasquez’s nine wins have come by way of knockout or TKO.
Mir (16-5) is riding a three-fight win streak and coming off a brutal submission win at UFC 140 where he broke Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm with a kimura. Mir also beat Roy Nelson and Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic on his current streak.
Like Ortiz vs. Griffin, no details about when or where this fight could take place have been released.
KOREAN ZOMBIE VS. THE DIAMOND
Chan Sung Jung (more famously known as The Korean Zombie) will take on Dustin Poirier in the main event at UFC on FUEL TV 3, set for May 15 in Fairfax, Va., the UFC announced Friday.
Jung (12-3) is coming off the second-fastest KO in UFC history, defeating Mark Hominick in just under seven seconds at UFC 140 in December.
Poirier (12-1) is one of the featherweight division’s youngest and fastest-rising stars. The 23-year-old recently submitted Max Holloway with a mounted triangle-armbar at UFC 143. Following the bout Poirier said he wanted to fight Jung because it would be an exciting fight.
