Tito Ortiz Officially Signs with Affliction

August 5, 2008 · Filed Under Affliction 

The former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has officially signed with Affliction MMA. Tito will once again team up with billionaire Donald Trump, the star/creator of the reality show “the Apprentice”. It was quite obvious on the show that the Donald was very fond of Tito and when it was announced that Donald Trump was a significant part of Affliction, it was expected that Tito would also follow suit.

Of course, there was no reason for Tito to stay with the UFC, as there was plenty of drama and turmoil between him and UFC president Dana White. It seemed to be a very personal squabble. Nevertheless, in a Sports Illustrated interview Tito reveals his thoughts on the differences between Affliction and the UFC:

“Mr. Trump [Affliction] sees it as a business and no more than that. He understands that and there’s nothing personal to it at all and that’s what the UFC has problem with. The UFC takes the work they do very, very personal and in any business once you let your personal feelings get involved with it everything goes to [crap]. Mr. Trump is a strict businessman who respects the fighters. This is going to be one of the biggest losses [the UFC] has ever had to date and one of the worst mistakes they’ve ever made.”

Although, Tito Ortiz can be a handful, by sparking controversy with his smack talk, there is no doubt that he garnered the attention to exponentially grow the sport of MMA. In Tito’s career with the UFC from 1997 to 2006 he has had a winning record and held the light heavyweight belt for almost three years (2000 to 2003). Most significantly he has claimed victories of some of the best MMA fighters including Wanderlei Silva, Evan Tanner, Guy Mezger, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock.

Certainly, Tito’s fighting skills and attitude are noteworthy to the success of Affliction. But lets not forget that Tito is a very keen businessman and was able to start and develop his own clothing line, Punishment Athletics, into a multi-million dollar business. Time will tell if Tito can bring the momentum to Affliction, and this is what says about this whole deal:

It’s going to be a long-term deal where I put my heart and soul into the company and help build them. That’s something I’m interested in doing. They’re going to bring me on, not just as a fighter but also doing some of the back work also.”

Plenty of people will be looking forward to see this Tito / Affliction deal turn out, but first glance will be test when he fights against Renato “Babalu” Sobral at “Day of Reckoning” on October 11.

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