"Mark Coleman's the first victim on the list. Mark's a tough fighter. One of the best heavyweight world champs formerly. Now he's coming down to 205. He's one and one. He lost to Shogun and then he beat Bonnar so I think it's going to be a tough fight. A lot of people think it's going to be an easy fight for me; I don't think so. I just gotta put in the work as hard as possible and try to press the pace as much as possible," stated former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz as he spoke to FightHype's own Nick Sanchez about his anticipated return to the Octagon and his upcoming clash with Mark Coleman at UFC 106. Ortiz, who's coming off a year-long layoff to return to training after having major back surgery, recently enlisted the services of a world-class boxing trainer Freddie Roach.
In his last bout, Ortiz lost a unanimous decision to current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Interestingly enough, Ortiz may have given the current champion his toughest challenge to date as he nearlly pulled off the victory with a last minute triangle choke. After having extensive back surgery in October of last year, Ortiz is now ready to make another run for the title and it starts with a bout against 44-year-old Mark Coleman, the oldest fighter to ever win a match in the UFC. "I think Couture really...age is a factor that you can't beat. Couture showed it in his last fight. Yeah, he showed a lot of heart, but, you know, I don't think Coleman is even the closest thing of a competitor or an athlete that Couture is," Ortiz remarked about his opponent.
Winless in his last three bouts, losing to Machida, Chuck Liddell and earning a draw against Rashad Evans, some consider his return bout against Mark Coleman to be somewhat of a tune-up for Ortiz, but the Huntington Beach Bad Boy disagrees, stating, "I wish it'd be a walk in the park. A lot of people say it's going to be a walk in the park, but to walk in the park, you gotta do the roadwork before and I'm doing it so I hope Mark's ready because, if not, it's going to be a boring fight; it's going to be over quick or it's going to be an exciting fight for all the fans and we'll have the knockout standing over him."
Love him or hate him, it's good to see Ortiz making his return to the Octagon. Given that all but one of his 22 bouts have taken place inside the Octagon, Ortiz has become staple of the UFC and, at what point, was considered to be the face of the organization.
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