Babalu against Ortiz?
July 24, 2008 by Gary Herman
One of the more interesting comments to come from the recent Affliction show was from Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Babalu made it very clear who he wants to fight next.
I told Tom Atencio who the one guy I want him to sign is,” said Sobral, “Tito Ortiz is my dream fight.”
A potential Sobral vs. Ortiz would be a big one for Affliction - mainly because it would mean they have Ortiz under contract. It would also have a lot of appeal to the casual fan because Babalu is a name most people are familiar with from his fights with Chuck Liddell. Affliction could position the winner as its first light heavyweight champion.
I did recently ask Atencio if he had spoken with Ortiz, and he said that he has not had any contact with Ortiz because he still has some contract issues with the UFC (possibly pertaining to the use of the UFC belt for Tito Ortiz’s book?).
To read the entire story for the Affliction post-show notes, please click here or here.
If Affliction gets Ortiz, they should do a co-promotion with Strikeforce. Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz II would be the only match-up that could rake in the PPV buys.
Considering Ortiz sat next to the Donald at the show, I’d say it’s very likely Ortiz expects to be fighting for Affliction. Also, I swear I heard Ortiz say he’s probably going to fight for Affliction the last time he was on Howard Stern…
Two gatekeepers. Jeez, sounds like a Traveling Wilbury’s song or something…
I think he cant talk to Ortiz cause in UFC contracts once the contract expires, the UFC still has like 60 or 90 days to try and negotiate without the fighter able to speak to others elsewhere.
[...] Posted by thecoylewis Five Ounces of Pain | Babalu against Ortiz? I’d very much like to see this happen. Ortiz vs Lil Nog would be good too. I don’t think the [...]
I would like to see this bout. I would also like to see Ricardo Arona fight one of these two at some point in time. The thing with Tito is he most likely would want his Punishment brand to get some promotion as well.
[...] is entertaining thoughts of a Babalu vs. Tito Ortiz clash sometime in the future. Fiveouncesofpain.com brings you the scoop on this [...]
I wonder how many of the rabid Anti-UFC group who bashed Silva/Irvin as “unimportant” while go gaga over this fight…
Y do they keep getting has been…
If OrtiZ win a belt 4 Affliction it will show that they have week fighters @ 205. Which is the most important weight class in any one on one sport. Tito not even top 5 lightweight challengers in UFC…
Whoa that made no sense. You know Tito isn’t a lightweight, right?
Tito is still a viable top 5-7 LHW. Losing to Machida and Liddell doesn’t mean he is now irrellivant. He beat Rashad Evans who is supposed to be top 10. He beat Forrest Griffin 2 years ago. Tito is still a top guy when he wants to fight. He just needs to be more active.
There is NO way Tito is a Top 5-7 heavyweight. He can MAYBE be ranked at #10 but that’s pushing it for someone who is 0-2-1 in his last three fights and whose last relevant victory came against a then-unranked Forrest Griffin over two years ago.
Tito is straight garbage what the hell you talking about. First of all he didn’t beat Rashad, it was a DRAW. 2nd of all, Tito Ortiz is a little girl all he does it try to shoot in every damn second and not get the takedown and cover up all day. Tito is NOT a fighter hes a little girl wrestler, send him to WWE. Tito’s stand up is HORRIBLE, can he even throw a punch?
Least Babalu actually went the distance with Fedor in losing a decision. Fedor vs tito? try 10 second ko or submission ….ahh might take alittle longer cause tito would just cover up to survive soon as the bell rings.
Tito clearly beat Rashad Evans last summer. It was a draw due to a fence grab. Rashad is supposedly top 10. His other losses were to top 3 guys in Liddell, and Machida. And Machida didn’t exactly “steamroll” through Tito. If guys like Soko, Evans, Jardine and Rod Nog are supposedly top ten. Tito has to be right there with them. Wandy lost 3 in a row before rebounding against Jardine and landing in the top 5. Clearly Tito could beat any of the above guys on any given night.
But he hasn’t.
He hasn’t beaten Liddell, he hasn’t beaten Jardine, he hasn’t beaten Lil Nog, and he hasn’t beaten Evans.
Clearly, Tito couldn’t beat Chuck given the chance two times so what makes you think he can now? I’ll give you Jardine and Evans in a rematch but Lil Nog?
If you think Ortiz can beat Lil Nog, you’re just as mistaken as he is regarding his skill and place in the current MMA landscape.
i would pay to watch this! Not 40 bucks, but i would pay 5bucks.lol. It would draw a crowd though i do believe. Some good looking porn stars anyways!
Tito still has plenty of fight left in him. Like the above poster said he’s lost to Liddell and Machida and had a draw with Evans. And the draw was BS, just listen to Hackleman’s assessment of the fight. Tito chased Rashad around the ring, and Rashad was saved by the bell in the 2nd round when Tito had a deep choke in.
Go watch Machida absolutely dominate Sokoudjou and finish him with a choke in the 2nd round. He beat Tito by scoring points and backpedaling and nearly got finished in the 3rd round by a triangle/armbar.
How much do you think Tito would gouge Affliction for, over a million per fight? He’ll bring in the PPV buys, but let’s not pretend he’s a top 10 LW any more.