Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz officially fighting for third time on Nov. 24
It looks like Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz are officially stepping into the cage one more time.
The two UFC Hall of Famers will officially face each other for a third time on Nov. 24 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, according to a report from ESPN. The fight between Liddell, 48, and Ortiz, 43, will be overseen by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, the first MMA fight in the history of the boxing promoter.
Liddell announced he was coming out of retirement in May and was targeting a third fight against Ortiz. He did not make much of an effort to hide a lingering animosity with his longtime rival.
“I don’t like him, I don’t think he’s a good person, but it is what it is,” Liddell said. “I can be civil with anybody. I don’t have animosity. But yeah, I would love to beat him up again. That’s the one thing I have been asked since I’ve retired more than anything is, ‘Can you beat him up one more time?’ People just never get tired of seeing me hit him.”
Liddell first faced Ortiz back in 2005 during UFC 47, defeating him via second-round knockout to capture the UFC light heavyweight title. He would later defend that title against Ortiz in 2006 during UFC 66, winning with a third-round TKO despite fighting with a torn MCL. Rumors of a third fight floated around, but never materialized until this year.
While both fighters are definitely well past their primes, the fight still figures to capture plenty of attention. The event’s pay-per-view price is yet to be determined, but De La Hoya told ESPN that his promotion could help both legends pull in an unprecedented amount of revenue.
“I’m becoming a promoter in MMA for the same reason I became a promoter in boxing,” De La Hoya said. “I’m sick and tired of these fighters coming up to me and saying they get paid crap.
“I can’t get into the specifics of these deals, but I’ll tell you that [Liddell and Ortiz] will be making a hell of a lot more money than they have with anybody else. They’ll participate in revenue from PPV, gate and everything else that comes in. This will be the most lucrative fight of their careers.”
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