UFC
UFC NEWS: Tito Ortiz has no intentions of retiring regardless of outcome against Lil Nog at UFC Fight Night 24
Jan 25, 2011 - 4:00:08 PM UFC NEWS: Tito Ortiz has no intentions of retiring regardless of outcome against Lil Nog at UFC Fight Night 24

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Tito Ortiz has not won a fight since October of 2006, and he's entering his headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 24 on his last legs in the UFC. But though he's facing being cut from the organization with a loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he has no intentions of retiring from fighting.

"I'm not getting knocked unconscious. I'm not getting submitted. I'm not getting dominated. I'm losing by decision; I'm losing by draws," Ortiz said, in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "One-hundred percent [I will continue fighting, regardless of the outcome]. I'm healthy for once. People don't understand the injuries that I've gone through. I've had some serious, serious surgeries, and I went through some serious pain over the last seven years, and I fought through it.

"Now that I'm healthy and I feel good, I want to compete. I want to show the best I possibly can and fight the best guys possible."

Ortiz has no easy task ahead of him in "Lil Nog." Nogueira lost to Ryan Bader in his last fight, and had trouble with Jason Brilz in a razor thin split decision win early last year, but he is still a legitimate top 15 fighter in the division, and represents a very difficult fight for "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy." But Ortiz says this is the fight he wants to take right now.

"I probably could have gotten an easier fight, but I wanted to challenge myself," Ortiz said. "Do I fight someone who I'm supposed to beat, or do I fight someone that's supposed to beat me? I like these terms better."

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Penick's Analysis: Ortiz isn't in a spot where there needs to be any type of strong call for him to retire. He's not like his old nemesis Chuck Liddell, who had suffered numerous knockout losses in consecutive fights. He has been competitive in all of his losses over the last four years, and has had a number of injuries hamper what he's been able to do. That said, he hasn't won fights, and if he loses this one the UFC will cut him and it will be absolutely justified. He'll find somewhere else to fight if that's the case, but he certainly won't command the type of money he's received from the UFC in this latest contract.

[Tito Ortiz art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]