UFC Press Conference: Tito is back, Franklin vs. Belfort to headline UFC 103
Dana White and the UFC held a press conference today promising “Crazy things.” The announcements probably fell short of crazy, but were significant nonetheless.
Dana White announced that Tito Ortiz is indeed back in the UFC. No return date was set, but Tito said that he was healthy and working with Freddie Roach on his striking. He said he would fight before the end of the year. Mark Coleman was mentioned as a possible opponent for Ortiz’s return.
Last week White said the announced UFC 103 main event between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson was not set in stone. Today he confirmed that Franklin would indeed be in the main event, but that Vitor Belfort would be his opponent. The fight will take place at light heavyweight. Belfort was scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago at the cancelled Affliction event that was scheduled for August 1st, though he was also considered as a possible replacement for Josh Barnett as Fedor Emelianenko’s opponent. Belfort’s contract was absorbed by the UFC as part of the Affliction/UFC deal. Both Franklin and Belfort like to stand and bang, so it should make for an exciting bout.
White also announced that Dan Henderson will indeed get the next shot at Anderson Silva. Henderson believed he had earned the shot with his KO victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, but that seemed to be out the window when he was announced as Franklin’s opponent for UFC 103. Now that Belfort is taking on Franklin instead, Henderson will have the next middleweight title shot.
In Fedor related news, White said that he gave Fedor the best offer possible and believed it would be enough to land the Russian heavyweight when he made it. However, Fedor and M-1 are refusing all offers that don’t involve co-promotion. White said co-promotion was not possible and would not be offered. He said the deal was still on the table if Fedor wanted to accept it.
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Related posts:
- UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort Preview and Predictions
- Franklin vs. Henderson II set for UFC 103 Main Event
- Vitor Belfort vs. Anderson Silva Scheduled for UFC 108
- Vitor Belfort Out of Scheduled UFC 112 Title Fight Against Silva
- Recapping the crazy day in MMA
Filed Under: News
Im so tired of Fedor and his team of (mis)handlers. The UFC has nothing to gain from a Co-Promotion with M-1 Global yet these buffons think that UFC should bow down to them and just do it. I have news for Fedor and his management team, nobody is going to care about M-1 when it goes under just like no one cares about Elite XC and Affliction(besides their fancy shirts). The time to make your mark in MMA is now Fedor and you are failing to strike while the iron is hot. By letting your management team lead you down the wrong path yet again, you look foolish and will soon fade of into being an afterthought when people bring up the best MMA fighters in the world. You know why? Because those fighters actually seek out the BIG fights. The ones that define a legacy, not just sit behind excuses.