Comments on: Is Tito Ortiz worth Affliction’s money?

By: Paying for Tito Ortiz is like “buying a pair of expensive jeans and paying for a label.” :Five Ounces of Pain

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:01:09 +0000

[...] too long ago I wrote a piece about Tito Ortiz and whether or not he was worth Affliction’s money. My feeling is that he’s not and while he is worth a good deal and big bucks, he’s not [...]

By: Dr.Stoppage

Dr.Stoppage — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:54:44 +0000

To elaborate,Tito had become a UFC gatekeeper.
He don’t know how to finish anymore,except when it comes to babymaking.
BUT,apparently he’s good in the business of marketing Tito.

By: Dr.Stoppage

Dr.Stoppage — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:49:19 +0000

Good for Tito…bad for Affliction

By: dpk

dpk — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:09:04 +0000

“Is Tito Ortiz worth Affliction’s Money”- In my opinion, no.

Not if he is getting as much as he says he is in the SI article. Tito’s best days are behind him, and the only guys he could fight to prove otherwise are in UFC. The only contract that would make sense to me is one heavy on shares of the PPVs, and I think Tito is over estimating his drawing power. I’m not paying $40 to see a guy who isn’t even a top 10 LHW in matches that have no relevance in determining who the best person in the world at the weight class is.

By: darkmetal

darkmetal — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:04:30 +0000

Is Tito worth the money? The question should be “Can Afflliction afford to pay Tito the money?” You can’t leak thousand of dollars forever, and getting Tito is just attaining someone who will badmouth his every opponent, and then probably lose, or at best eek out a decision…unless…Affliction aquires Ken Shamrock that is.

Ortiz is a sideshow fighter, someone who you watch because you want him to lose, who is long on wind and short of aquired skills. If Affliction wants to become as big as the UFC, they need to get fighters that are BETTER than the UFC, and so far that has been their plan. I don’t see Tito in that scenario, and certainly not for the price that Tito is quoting.

By: Bradster

Bradster — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:42:42 +0000

Tito isn’t worth more than Arlovski, Fedor, or Barnett. I think the continual degradation of AFFLICTION is just the result of all the Haterade everyone’s been drinking. Look. . .Affliction is early in its infancy stage & hasn’t even really been given a chance to develop, learn & grow. It’s not the UFC & never will be the UFC, but we cannot continue to hate on Affliction just because of its roster. Give it time & more fighters will migrate over, the organization will be larger w/more asses in the seats & people @ hm purchasing PPVs. I think Affliction caters more so to the “harcore MMA fan” vs. the mainstreamer common day man/woman who doesn’t know as much about the sport or its fighters & their specialties. Affliction has a great product & w/time will deliver even a better brand to the MMA fan. I’d rather have an organization that can cater to the hardcore fan so not every armchair MMA expert can run his mouth about the sport then they don’t know shit about it. Hey Rome wasn’t built in a day. . .so if Affliction wants to ink on Tito, that’ll make for some entertainment seeing him get his ass kicked again & again by reall fighters who’ve evolved w/the sport. I say he jumps up to HW & fights my boy Arlovski. That’ll be great boxing practice for Andrei. Sorry for the novella like reply!

By: Warcry

Warcry — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:30:40 +0000

Not a big Tito guy. However you have to say he is worth more than they paid for Tim Sylvia and he is not on the level of Fedor. So his rate should be somewhere in between those two. Does he have a blind fanbase sure he does. They watch his biscuit-head everytime out. They also make excuses for why his is been getting his ass-kicked. That said the man has past glory he can still hang his hat on.

By: Handover Fist

Handover Fist — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:41:53 +0000

Some people will always by the PPV to see certain fights fight because of their personas but I believe most fans want to see top 10 fighters square off against each other and the sport has passed Tito by in that regard. If you believe the majority of the fans are tuning in just to see theatrics then this is no more a sport then the TV wrestling stuff.

By: Imbecile

Imbecile — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:32:15 +0000

Just to add one more thing…

I do wonder how Tito’s loyal fanbase is still doing these days, given that it has become increasingly obvious that he isn’t a top fighter any more. I imagine he still has plenty of fans, but that it has dwindled some.

I guess we will find out when/if he is able to make Affliction a success.

By: Imbecile

Imbecile — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:29:10 +0000

It is hard to say accurately what Tito is worth. He probably isn’t worth anywhere near what Affliction may pay him, but he is probably worth more than all of their other fighters combined.

Affliction paid somewhere in the $1.5 million range for Fedor, $800K for Sylvia, $750,000K for Arlovski, $200,000K for Lindland, $200,000K for Rothwell, several hundred thousand for Barnett, etc.

As much as I hate to say it, but Tito puts more asses in more seats and sells more PPV’s than all of those guys combined.

Does that mean Tito should get paid the combined amount of these fighters? Hardly. Affliction severely overpaid every single person on their card.

I don’t really like Tito, and I think it does say something about the sport that he is still one of the most marketable names out there. I don’t like his fighting style, I don’t think he is a top fighter anymore, and I really don’t like his attitude. But Tito has a significant fanbase, he sells a fight well, and he brings along a more casual viewer. I remember going to his fight in Anaheim, and I was sitting in a crowd of about 30 fans that had driven up from Mexico just to see Tito. They knew nobody else on the card, but they LOVED Tito! That is how strong his fanbase is, and that type of loyal, casual fan is why he is a decent investment.

Affliction has to be careful, though, because I think there is truth in Dana White’s comment that Tito no longer wants to be a fighter. Tito may take one fight and then cut and run to his movie “career.” But if Affliction continues to spend too much on all fighters, they may need be around past the one fight Tito has with them anyway.