or just smart???
look at it this way...he hasn't convincingly beaten anyone besides ken shamrock since 2004! the forrest fight i thought he lost and the belfort fight could have gone either way. plus a draw with evans in a somewhat lackluster fight.
so what does he do?? he gets himself on a massively viewed reality show right before the last fight on his UFC contract expires... probably making himself more vaulable name recognition wise..despite his fighting skills possibly starting to diminish.
if machida destorys him in may, how bad does this effect his free agent value and where does he sign next?
opinions?
also..the fact that he reffered to himself and jenna as "jennito" in an interview... almost made me vomit.
Tito Ortiz is still the best MMA businessman, IMO.
Tito is smart, however the fans are the ones that are delusional. They are living under the guise that Tito is still the same fighter from years ago.
He's not entertaining past the first round due to gassing and has not evolved from a wrestler with OK stand up. (the way i see it, not fighter bashing!)
By the fact that he's still a draw and still fighting, that makes him smart and the fans almost retarded.
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Depends upon how you define, "MMA businessman."
I don't think The Apprentice leads to a huge new number of PPV buyers despite what some believe.
MMA fans may have watched because Tito was on, the rest of the viewers would have watched regardless. The percentage of that show's demographic that will now pay $50 when he fights Machida is miniscule.
i don't see how anyone could sell the idea of Tito as a business genius when he says things like "Titomaniacs"
I'm sure the guy is hard working and he'll make money doing whatever he wants to do, but he's not a brilliant promoter, he can't give a good interview, and he's not a business major either
he's good at making safe moves and then selling them as risky exciting moves, i will give him that.
I'm sure the guy is hard working and he'll make money doing whatever he wants to do, but he's not a brilliant promoter, he can't give a good interview, and he's not a business major either
he's good at making safe moves and then selling them as risky exciting moves, i will give him that.
He's maximized his overall income the most in proportion to his fighting ability and MMA talent. I'm a big Tito fan, but he held out for the right money, the right match-ups, and always hyped the hell out of fights like the Lions Den trilogy leading up to Ken, facing off with Rashad in the crowd, etc. He was one of the first to start his own athletic company (Punishment Athletics) way before anyone else jumped on that bandwagon (to my knowledge).
Even if he flails against Machida, another org would jump at the chance to pick him up and feature him as a star.
That picture will haunt my dreams
I think Ken Shamrock hyped their match more than Tito did.
i'm sure other orgs would like to have him, but he'll be taking a pay cut. I can't see anyone paying him more than the UFC is, because frankly either they don't have any money to spend (IFL) or because he's just not worth it. He fights like ass here lately, you can't count on him to honor his agreements, he tries to matchmake his own fights and that's a big problem because he tries to hand pick the easiest opponents, etc
he's not some dream come true for a promoter. I mean sure he could be an asset, but if EliteXC hires him on as their highest paid fighter and he continues to fight like crap, or starts calling out Cung Le or doesn't bother to show up to fights like he did vs Dana, or something like that, then he'll cripple one of these smaller orgs
agree with both hornbuckle and sandy's posts
Nobody wants to discuss it I guess, but if he leaves the UFC, he leaves all his previous fight footage with it. I think that's a big deal. If he signs to fight Frank they can still talk it up, but can't show the first fight.
i'm sure other orgs would like to have him, but he'll be taking a pay cut. I can't see anyone paying him more than the UFC is, because frankly either they don't have any money to spend (IFL) or because he's just not worth it. He fights like ass here lately, you can't count on him to honor his agreements, he tries to matchmake his own fights and that's a big problem because he tries to hand pick the easiest opponents, etc
Well... that's kinda why he's perfect for EliteXC. He would be their biggest star, and I could actually see him fighting Frank Shammy and even Kimbo despite the weight differences, and he could negotiate one or two build-up fights before that.
he's not some dream come true for a promoter. I mean sure he could be an asset, but if EliteXC hires him on as their highest paid fighter and he continues to fight like crap, or starts calling out Cung Le or doesn't bother to show up to fights like he did vs Dana, or something like that, then he'll cripple one of these smaller orgs
IMO he can fight like crap and still probably beat Cung Le, who is amongst the top of the food chain there. I'll pretend you didn't just bring up the "fight" with Dana as some sort of justification for anything.
"Well... that's kinda why he's perfect for EliteXC. He would be their biggest star, and I could actually see him fighting Frank Shammy and even Kimbo despite the weight differences, and he could negotiate one or two build-up fights before that."
you're assuming he would want to fight Frank or Kimbo, and i don't think he would. He's gonna go after the easiest fight out there for himself, you can bank on that. and the "fight" with Dana is relevant because Tito wrote it into his contract, and then didn't show up for it. The guy faked an injury to avoid fighting Chuck back when he was champ. He brags about cheating vs Rashad
you have a real problem in Tito in that he doesn't think contracts or rules mean anything. what's "right" is whatever is right for him at that moment, and that can be a real problem for promoters, and it can cost you alot of money. It wouldn't shock me at all if Tito doesn't get signed by anyone. He supposedly has his own reality show in development, and he may just decide to go that direction with it and forget fighting
What MMA orgs fought to sign him last time he left the UFC?
he does want to fight the smaller frank, he knows hed win, and get paid well
Dana would have sued his ass if he breached contract, we all know that. And I just disagree that Tito is scared to fight anyone good, he's smart enough to know there's no money in it unless he does. He'll definitely take some easier fights on the way, but he thrives on hyping up fueds and drama for big fights.
And I don't think ANYONE besides the UFC is in a position to pass on a big name like Tito, it's really a win/win situation for them.
What MMA orgs fought to sign him last time he left the UFC?
What MMA org's were even in the picture or had any money besides Pride back then?
The WFA (ha ha) and Pride were two, but he was a big name back then also.
I'm interested to see how it turns out for him (without me paying $ to see him) Maybe he'll fight Lindland in that Affliction/ De La Hoya thing.