Tito Ortiz's withdrawal from Chuck Liddell fight: Behind the scenes
The most compelling episode of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" airs Wednesday (10 p.m. Pacific time) in which former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz makes an emotional injury withdrawal from his scheduled June 12 fight against rival Chuck Liddell in Vancouver.
Ortiz's withdrawal has been a source of internal drama with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with Ortiz and President Dana White at first denying that Ortiz was off the Vancouver card -- he's been replaced by former middleweight champion Rich Franklin -- and then acknowledging that he indeed had suffered an injury that would deprive fans of a third Liddell-Ortiz fight.
Ortiz added to the drama by getting arrested recently after a scuffle at his Huntington Beach home with his porn-actress girlfriend, Jenna Jameson. No criminal charges were filed, and Ortiz attended Saturday night's UFC 114 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
He hasn't been fired from the UFC, but he was fired from "The Ultimate Fighter," a move made by White that is included in tonight's episode, along with the revelation of Ortiz's injury (believed to be a neck problem) and the introduction of Franklin.
An outraged Liddell is also part of the show.
You can see a preview here and here.
-- Lance Pugmire
Photo: Tito Ortiz in 2009. Credit: Neil Davidson / Associated Press.
