Tito Ortiz Says Golden Boy MMA Is Dead
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, who defeated former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell in the main event, says that Golden Boy MMA is dead.
“Yea it’s dead,” Ortiz said to TSN (via Christopher Taylor of BJPenn.com). “They are just in the boxing business and I can leave it there. I gave them the opportunity to run with something and make it huge but it just didn’t work out. I did what I needed to do promotion wise. Getting ready for the fight it was eighteen weeks and it just ended up getting me another fight in the future. I can’t say nothing bad about Oscar because he gave me an opportunity and I am very thankful for it. It’s just one of those things as a promoter, you’ve got to do your homework.”
Ortiz has since signed with Combate Americas, while fellow headliner Liddell has yet to announce any future plans.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion looks at UFC President Dana White as somebody who does the MMA game right.
“You know a perfect example is Dana White,” he said. “He does his homework, he busts his ass and he does it for the MMA crowd and not just for his family but for fighters and their future. Oscar just really didn’t put his homework in and he didn’t do what he wanted to do for mixed martial arts. He’s a boxing promoter, and I guess we will leave it right there.”
Other notables who competed on the first and only Golden Boy MMA card include Deron Winn, Tom Lawlor, Walel Watson, Gleison Tibau, Efrain Escudero and Jay Silva.