Liddell-Ortiz 3 Is About To Happen

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will soon battle in a mixed martial arts cage for the third time. The two MMA legends were once the talk of the fight world. According to mmafighting.com, their bouts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship drew big money and garnered mainstream interest. While the UFC no longer wishes to book Ortiz or Liddell, Golden Boy Promotions took a chance. Tonight, the two California natives appropriately meet at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. Before the end of the night, the fight world will find out who is the victor. In a week or so, the PPV industry finds out if Golden Boy Promotions is a real player in the MMA game.

The match takes place 12 years after their last meeting. The fight won’t be a “rubber match” where the outcome of the previous battles was 1-1. Liddell won both contests. So, the third meeting provides Ortiz with a chance at redemption.

Long-time fans maintain interest in the third fight due to the established hatred between Liddell and Ortiz. Even though many years passed, the two fighters never softened their stances on one another. Personal animosities don’t always go away. Ortiz probably feels the sting of not holding a win over Liddell. Attitude came through on interviews over the years. Liddell doesn’t hold Ortiz in much esteem either. He was even outright dismissive of Ortiz when hyping up the new fight. Doing so isn’t the best way to garner interest in a fight. Referring to Ortiz as someone he “doesn’t care” much about doesn’t help with selling tickets nor boosting PPV buys.

Golden Boy Promotion hopes old-time fans of MMA want to see a third go-round between Ortiz and Liddell. The event may draw some curiosity buys. Hopefully, Liddell and Ortiz turns out to be a strong match and creates a buzz about the promotion. Golden Boy Promotions needs to build for the future. Nostalgia only works for so long.