Ortiz, citing spinal surgery, drops out of the traditional fight between the coaches that ends "The Ultimate Fighter" show.
Tito Ortiz
Mixed martial arts fans today can choose from drama inside AND outside the octagon.
Inside, the long-awaited grudge match between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad "Suga" Evans last Saturday resolved itself in the expected way, but with an unexpected result.
Outside, well, the drama -- featuring two of the most notable names in MMA, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz -- is lasting longer than a Red Auerbach victory cigar. Minus, of course, any expected ash-kicking.
That's because Ortiz, citing spinal surgery on a disc pressing up against his spinal cord in his neck, has pulled out of the traditional fight between the two coaches that marks the end of "The Ultimate Fighter" television show. That was supposed to happen at UFC 115 in Vancouver on June 12. Rich Franklin, who took over as coach for Ortiz, will be Liddell's opponent.
Cleveland-area fight fans can watch the UFC 115 action live on the big screen at Cinemark 24 at 6001 Canal Road, Valley View; or Cinemark South Park Mall, 17450 Southpark Center, Strongsville. Fight time is 10 p.m. and tickets are $20 each.
Don't bother going to Vancouver; the event is sold out there. But it's also available on pay-per-view here, with a suggested purchase price of $44.95. Contact your local cable or satellite carrier for details.
Inside the octagon: The surprise inside the cage had to be Evans' solid victory over Jackson. Two judges gave the fight to Evans by a 30-27 margin, and the third had it at 29-28.
In the post-fight news conference, Jackson said he was surprised at how much quicker Evans is than he anticipated. And in an almost conciliatory tone, especially compared to the trash-talking that led up to the fight, he said he had nothing but respect for Evans for developing, and then keeping to a game plan that took advantage of his speed and mobility.
Jackson did manage to hurt Evans once, with an right that dropped him to the canvas in the third and final round. But Evans was able to recover. Some observers said that was partly because of a tactical error by Jackson, who apparently ignored the advice of his corner to go after the wobbly Evans. The delay allowed the eventual victor to recover.
"I was hurt for a little bit, but that's what happens sometimes," said Evans in a story on ufc.com. "I'm not gonna give up, no matter what."
"I was very surprised that he recovered from that," said Jackson. "I put all my eggs in that basket."
With the win, Evans has won the right to be the first fighter to attempt to wrest the light-heavyweight title from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who knocked out Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida to win the crown earlier this spring. That fight, though, has not yet been scheduled by UFC President Dana White.
It's rare for an MMA fighter to go undefeated. Rematches are common -- the Evans-Jackson fight was one. With the win over Jackson, who is playing the role made famous by Mr. T in a movie version of the TV show "The A-Team," Evans raises his record to 20-1-1. Jackson's record dips to 30-8.
Jackson said the time spent making the film definitely was a factor in his performance in the fight.
"I've got to leave tonight to go on tour for this damn movie and everything. I regret I even did the movie almost. I'm a fighter, but I tried to go into a whole new adventure and didn't even know anything about tours and stuff in a movie. I had no idea I had to do this," Jackson said in a story on ugo.com.
"I have a few movie offers on the table. They've been there for a while, but I was just focusing on this fight and I wasn't worrying about it. I got to make a decision because it looks like it would be hard to do both . . . I've just got to think about which one I want to do."
"The A-Team" movie is scheduled to debut Friday, June 11.