well, he was the champ in the transitional period. at that time, not a lot of people were able to integrate stand up and grappling.
he was strong and a decent wrestler, and an above averge puncher. he started taking his conditioning seriously after Frank Shamrock whipped his ass, and that’s kind of what he’s been known for.
i kinda thought he was a 90% fighter…better than 90% of the fighters out there, but never gonna beat the top guys, at least not consistently.
i’m honestly very surprised he’s coming back to the UFC…
[quote]WolBarret wrote:
Well, that’s disappointing. I was hoping there was more to him than Wrestling, Conditioning, and his mouth. He was still champion, so I respect him.
But if he comes back, what chance does he have against Anderson S., Forest G(who beat Tito), and the rest. He’s still young enough to compete(34)[/quote]
Tito can compete at the highest level still, however he has zero chance against the best the division has to offer. (Machida, Anderson) IMO
Like many of the champs of that time he was bigger, stronger, and had great wrestling. People have learned how to beat this, and that’s why those guys aren’t champs anymore.
[quote]Beershoes wrote:
Like many of the champs of that time he was bigger, stronger, and had great wrestling. People have learned how to beat this, and that’s why those guys aren’t champs anymore. [/quote]
They also lost their strength/athletic advantage due to age/wear + tear. If you look at Hughes in the first GSP fight, he absolutely dwarfs him size wise. Now he is smaller and hasn’t really evolved/maybe even regressed.
[quote]Big_Boss wrote:
Speaking of age/wear and tear…Ortiz is fighting Mark Coleman at UFC 106[/quote]
Terrible match-up for coleman. I have no interest in this fight. Coleman is a one trick pony and to put him with another wrestler with better skills in other areas is unexciting. Obviously trying to get Ortiz a W.
[quote]dhickey wrote:
Big_Boss wrote:
Speaking of age/wear and tear…Ortiz is fighting Mark Coleman at UFC 106
Terrible match-up for coleman. I have no interest in this fight. Coleman is a one trick pony and to put him with another wrestler with better skills in other areas is unexciting. Obviously trying to get Ortiz a W.[/quote]
As of now,the first thing that comes to mind with Tito is how easily Machida took him down and held dominant position on him. He can’t hang with the current crop UFC LHWs.
Big_Boss wrote:
Speaking of age/wear and tear…Ortiz is fighting Mark Coleman at UFC 106
At least it will be somewhat nostalgic…lol. [/quote]
Exactly!
In Tito’s defense, he did a pretty good job hanging with Machida in his last fight. I couldn’t ever see him winning, but he gave Machida a better fight than a lot of guys.
[quote]WolBarret wrote:
All I know about him now is that he’s fucking Jenna Jameson[/quote]
Isn’t that enough?
[quote]
and he’s a talker.[/quote]
One aspect that your not mentioning though is that he’s a talker for the promotion of the sport and in his prime he was really the only entertainer. Everyone else’s post fight interview involved thanking their sponsors (usually a used car lot or a scrap metal dealer).
Also outside of the trash talk he’s very professional (suit and tie as well as a relatively articulate speaker). And if his stint on TUF is any indication, he’s a reasonably good coach.
[quote]WolBarret wrote:
Well, that’s disappointing. I was hoping there was more to him than Wrestling, Conditioning, and his mouth. He was still champion, so I respect him.
But if he comes back, what chance does he have against Anderson S., Forest G(who beat Tito), and the rest. He’s still young enough to compete(34)[/quote]
He actually beat Forrest. He also drew w/ Evans and, despite getting tooled for most of the fight, almost finished Machida with a triangle. He would get slaughtered by Anderson Silva but I could see him putting up a good fight against Jardine/Henderson/Rampage/Cote.