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· 35 Days: The Five Weeks That Could Begin One Last Run For Ortiz

· Article author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Posted on 07/18 at 06:56 PM

Every sport has them: that team or athlete that uniquely stirs up emotions in fans. The NFL has the Raiders. Oh, sure, they’re irrelevant now, but there were many years where the Raiders were the scourge of the league. Fans had strong opinions about them (mostly negative) and the demand to see them compete was strong. Those of us who followed pro basketball in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s remember, with fondness, the reputation of the Detroit Pistons. This team that affectionately referred to itself as “The Bad Boys” delighted in their reputation of overly physical play, attitude, and swagger. Although they were eventually supplanted by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, those Detroit teams gave their league intriguing storylines.

Yes, every sport has teams and athletes like this, and from time to time they’ll be fortunate enough to have one of these teams or athletes attain a really high level in the sport. Though some prefer a more humble approach from athletes, the fact of the matter is this: sports are more interesting to the average fan when athletes like this are relevant. Although I was never a big fan, Tito Ortiz conjures up images of a simpler time for me. It was a time when MMA was far, far removed from the consciousness of even casual combat sports fans. It was a time when I had to go to my brother’s house several towns away (due to the fact that he had Direct TV) so that I could follow this great sport.

Tito Ortiz became the biggest star in a sport that was really just beginning to gather serious momentum toward national acceptance. As MMA began to be sanctioned in more and more states, Ortiz long remained the poster boy of its preeminent organization. And just like the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Pistons of yesteryear, UFC 133 is all the more interesting due to the presence of “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”. Although on paper Evans vs. Davis is perhaps a better fight, the recent turn of events is nothing if not intriguing. The potential story that’s playing out before could end up being incredible.

Consider the following: just a few weeks ago, the career of Tito Ortiz was basically dead. Even his most die-hard fans from his glory days would concede that his chances of becoming relevant again in one of the sport’s deepest divisions were slim. Here you had a 36-year-old athlete with a history of back problems and other serious injuries that hadn’t won a meaningful fight in years. With the salary he commanded it was just a matter of time before he was let go, and top 10 ranked Ryan Bader appeared poised to send him packing. But then a funny thing happened. The man that no one considered relevant anymore, the man that most folks wanted to see lose (at least at the sports bar I was in) pulled off an impressive upset by first round submission. For just a few brief moments, one could be forgiven for thinking it was the year 2000 again.

Ortiz suffered no damage in that fight and was in prime position to take the main event position vacated by outstanding prospect Phil Davis. So what we’re left with is the possibility that within a 35-day span, Tito Ortiz COULD pull off one of the greatest career turnarounds witnessed in such a brief amount of time.

Ask yourself this: IF Ortiz were to win, when has a combat sports athlete ever so drastically changed their fortunes in such a short amount of time? One could argue that Douglas over Tyson or Serra over St. Pierre were FAR greater upsets but that’s not really what is meant here. See, in those situations we at least knew that the possibility existed that if the underdog won that they would then become the No. 1 ranked fighter in their class. In other words, their career couldn’t have been that downtrodden if they were getting a shot at the best fighter in their division.

Although Tito’s upset over Bader wasn’t nearly as shocking, one has to simply remember that his career was all but done the day before that bout and here we find ourselves only a few weeks away from possibly seeing him in the thick of title contention. The possibility of seeing a guy go from such a significant low to getting two wins over top 10 competition in the matter of just over a month is a story that warrants attention. Of course, all of this is moot if Rashad Evans does what most think he’s going to do to Ortiz on August 6.

Still, as for that possibility that we’ll see MMA’s version of the Raiders or The Bad Boys make one last go of it? That, ladies and gentleman, just made UFC 133 all the more interesting. This is likely his last real shot at getting in the UFC’s 205-pound mix, but Tito’s 35-day window is proving to be a microcosm of his career...entertaining.

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