Tito Ortiz: "I Won't Be Back in the UFC"

Tito Ortiz has come out and publicly confirmed that he won't be back in the UFC, and that his fight against Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 was his last for the promotion.

There was some thought after his fight against Machida that Tito and the UFC might be softening their stances towards each other. All of the grand-standing and tough talk between the UFC and Ortiz seemed to melt away momentarily, leaving the door open (no matter how slightly) for a possible Ortiz contract extension.

In the end though, the fractured relationship between Ortiz and Dana White is the main reason why Ortiz won't be back with the promotion. Ortiz has publicly stated that White is a "monster" who treats his fighters like "slaves". White has obviously taken exception to these remarks, stating that Ortiz is a "part-time" fighter who is more interested in appearing on the "Apprentice" than fighting in the Octagon.

Ortiz says that he is "tired of kissing ass" and is looking forward to his newfound free agent status. He is going to do a promotional tour for his new book, "This is Gonna Hurt", and then make a decision on his future.

Ortiz has fought all but one of his career matches in the UFC. He first appeared at UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force way back in May of 1997, first beating Wes Albritton via knockout and then tapping to Guy Mezger via submission on the same night. He has had some epic matches in his career against some of the best MMA talent in the world, including Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. His two fights with Chuck Liddell were two of the biggest fights in UFC history.

Injuries and a focus on other interests started to slow Ortiz down in the ring. He has only fought three times since the end of 2006, with his best result being a draw against Rashad Evans at UFC 73 - Stacked.

Love him or hate him, the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" helped to build the UFC into what it is today.

Where to now for Ortiz?

Ortiz has said that he plans on attending the "Affliction: Banned" show in July. Don't be surprised if Ortiz is a part of the next major Affliction MMA card, especially if Affliction is still willing to dole out millions of dollars to attract big-name fighters.

You have to think that EliteXC would roll out the red carpet to try and get Ortiz signed, especially given the fact that they are now airing their "Saturday Night Fights" on CBS. Ortiz has a large fanbase and you would have to think that his presence in EliteXC would attract a lot of casual MMA fans. This is exactly what EliteXC needs right now. I think that Ortiz will eventually end up in EliteXC.

Regardless of where he ends up, one thing is for sure: the Tito Ortiz era is now officially over in the UFC.

Play Poker - Receive a $600 Bonus