[bears9]

UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz today confirmed that he has reluctantly accepted a May 24 fight with Lyoto Machida — while also saying it’ll likely be his final fight in the UFC.

Ortiz said he accepted the UFC 85 fight with Machida, but that he was “expecting a bigger fight,” such as a rematch with Rashad Evans. Ortiz and Evans fought to a disappointing draw back at UFC 71. If it weren’t for a costly one-point deduction issued to Ortiz for repeatedly grabbing the fence to avoid takedowns, Ortiz would have earned the unanimous-decision victory.

With the rematch apparently not on the table, Ortiz said he accepted the Machida fight and that he’s “just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.“

Tito Ortiz Confirms UFC 85 Fight with Lyoto Machida — And Pending UFC Departure -- MMAjunkie.com

[EmpireWF]

If Tito Ortiz does end up leaving the UFC later in 2008, it will be a HUGE story (not as big as Couture resigning but still). The UFC should do good by Ortiz and do whatever it takes to keep the guy with them. He's a proven PPV draw who the fans love to watch.

As for this fight with Machida, no disrespect to Machida but Ortiz definitely should have been given a more "high profile" fight.

Hopefully he's able to reach a deal with the Fertitta's to stick around.

[bears9]

I think the UFC wants Tito to stay. But on the other hand I think Tito hates Dana White and just wants to get this fight over with and get out.

[Lefty Noob]

With both Couture and Ortiz threatening to leave, what does this say about the UFC? Should they be doing more to keep their star athletes happy?

[bears9]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

With both Couture and Ortiz threatening to leave, what does this say about the UFC? Should they be doing more to keep their star athletes happy?

It's not just Couture and Tito. They couldn't get Fedor, they couldn't get a new deal with HBO, and the supposedly close deal with CBS just sort of went away. The UFC is having trouble negotiating these days.

[EmpireWF]

That's a big issue Lefty, the sport of MMA is pretty young. It's only 15-years old in the U.S. and this is the third year after the boom in 2005. Issues like fighter pay, contract structure, exclusiveness are some of the major ones people have problems with when the UFC is concerned.

Fighters know there is a ton of money being made by the promoters with their blood and hard work. Some of the lower level guys in the UFC make $3,000-$5,000 for a fight (obviously they have to have sponsors or a second job). The highest paid guys make around a quarter of a million to half a million (with bonuses or without, I'm not sure).

Tito is correct when he talks about how the UFC is creating a brand that is bigger than any single fighter. If one fighter can't go or chooses not to, they'll just wheel someone else in.

Of course the UFC has the biggest exposure of any MMA promotion and offers the biggest potential pay days. A guy like Dana White will come back and say if a guy is unhappy with his pay, let him go get a 'real' job. So these are interesting questions.