Longtime UFC fighter Tito Ortiz has seen his stock rise as of late with a decisive win over Ryan Bader at UFC 132 and now finds himself with the possibility of getting a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight title if he can defeat Rashad Evans at UFC 133 this weekend.
Ortiz has been blogging in the lead up to his bout with Evans on ESPN.com and this week talked about last weekend’s Strikeforce card and gave his thoughts on the main event of the evening that featured of couple of fighters that have been around the block:
“I watched the Fedor Emelianenko-Dan Henderson fight. I am not a huge supporter or anything, but it was hard to see someone like Fedor basically retire himself like that. He’s been finished in his last three fights and it is never good seeing any fighter who has been around for a long time finish on his face.
He’s not one of the greatest ever; he did great in Pride but he chose not to come to the UFC and he never fought in the UFC. You can’t be considered one of the best — much less the greatest ever — if you didn’t fight in the UFC. Pride isn’t the UFC and the places he’s been since Pride aren’t the UFC. Everyone who came from Pride to the UFC got stomped.
But that’s not to take away from Dan Henderson. Henderson is one of the best light heavyweights out there. He’s survived at the top of the food chain for a long time and that’s a fight I’d be very interested in. I’ve said I’m the last of the Mohicans lately but I guess Hendo is a Mohican too and it would be a great fight for me in the future.”
Ortiz has been blogging in the lead up to his bout with Evans on ESPN.com and this week talked about last weekend’s Strikeforce card and gave his thoughts on the main event of the evening that featured of couple of fighters that have been around the block:
“I watched the Fedor Emelianenko-Dan Henderson fight. I am not a huge supporter or anything, but it was hard to see someone like Fedor basically retire himself like that. He’s been finished in his last three fights and it is never good seeing any fighter who has been around for a long time finish on his face.
He’s not one of the greatest ever; he did great in Pride but he chose not to come to the UFC and he never fought in the UFC. You can’t be considered one of the best — much less the greatest ever — if you didn’t fight in the UFC. Pride isn’t the UFC and the places he’s been since Pride aren’t the UFC. Everyone who came from Pride to the UFC got stomped.
But that’s not to take away from Dan Henderson. Henderson is one of the best light heavyweights out there. He’s survived at the top of the food chain for a long time and that’s a fight I’d be very interested in. I’ve said I’m the last of the Mohicans lately but I guess Hendo is a Mohican too and it would be a great fight for me in the future.”