Tito Ortiz may have made his MMA debut over a decade before current UFC light heavyweight champ and pound-for-pound number one Jon Jones did, but that isn’t stopping the 44-year-old veteran from believing he can be the man to dethrone ‘Bones.’
Ortiz (20-12-1) is probably the least active he has ever been in his 20-year MMA career, only fighting three times in the last four years. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” knocked out Chuck Liddell in their trilogy fight on Golden Boy Promotions inaugural MMA event last year.
Making the bold statement when he recently spoke to TMZ, Ortiz feels he can be the one to beat the man many consider the greatest fighter of all time in Jones.
“I think I can beat Jon Jones,” Ortiz said. “I think I have a good chance – I really do think I’ve got a good chance. If people say, ‘Oh, Tito, (expletive), you’re over the hill,’ whatever. Come to my camp. Come train with me. Come wrestle with me. Come do jiu-jitsu with me. Watch my weight training. Watch my biking and stairs that I do. I push myself harder than I pushed myself through my whole career. I’m doing amazing. My mind is in the right place, my body is in the right place. (Transcription via MMA Junkie)
“He could be the best ever, but I mean, could have – not anymore,” Ortiz said. “He tarnished his career so many times, so much stuff that he did in and out of the cage it just – God, it bums me out because I love the guy, man. He was one of the best light heavyweights to ever grace the octagon.”
With the only loss of his MMA career coming by way of a controversial DQ, many consider Jones (25-1, 1NC) undefeated. The current UFC light heavyweight champ has beaten a who’s who of names during his time in the promotion, such as Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua. Ortiz feels he would be able to beat Jones with the ‘pressure’ he brings to the cage.
“Come on, why wouldn’t I? Pressure, pressure, pressure,” Ortiz said. “You stay in that angle, the outside reach of him, you’ve got problems with it. You can’t just sit there and play his game.”
Ortiz will face Alberto El Patron on December 7th in the main event of a Combate Americas pay-per-view.
Source: bloodyelbow.com
