Tito Ortiz boxing training at RVCA for Matt Hamill bout at UFC 120
Tito doing Boxing training with Jason Parillo at RVCA. Matt Hamill will be a tough test for Tito Ortiz and will make for a very entertaining bout in October.
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Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort at RVCA
Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort at RVCA from RVCA on Vimeo.
Vitor Belfort and Tito Ortiz stopped by RVCA to get some time in with boxing trainer Jason Parillo. It’s good to see Ortiz training with solid coaches and athletes like Vitor. He’s going to need a lot of fantastic training to deal with the skillset Matt Hamill brings to the Octagon. Hamill/Ortiz will be a good duel, but I’m leaning towards “The Hammer” in this one at this point. Ortiz is always dangerous, but Hamill is working off some momentum while Ortiz is coming off a tough loss to Forrest Griffin and nagging injuries. In addition, Hamill has a lot of effective and aggressive striking in conjunction with explosive and powerful takedowns.
Video: Tito Ortiz signs bout agreement to fight Matt Hamill at UFC 121
Matt Hamill and Tito Ortiz square off at UFC 121 in Anaheim, California on October 23rd. One thing about Tito Ortiz is he’s a great marketer and knows how to promote himself. There’s nothing too riveting about signing a bout agreement, hundreds of fighters will do it without anyone having a clue of what’s going aside from the fighter and his writing instrument. But Ortiz finds a way to make it into a YouTube event and at the same time promote his clothing line Punishment Athletics, and smoothly throw in the line at the end about Punishment. There’s a reason why he’s been able to stick around so long in the game, and that’s a strong business sense and ability to promote himself. He of course trains extremely hard, is a real fighter and has been a tough competitor for years in the division, but he always knows the right thing to say and do to make himself look good, benefit himself and his brand, and come out in a way that allows him to maintain a successful position in the sport. He was on celebrity Apprentice for a reason, and that reason is his is a very shrewd businessman and self-promoter extraordinaire. Coming from a tough background where he had to bite and scratch and fight for a lot of what he earned, he has developed a real sense of finding a way out of bad spots and created the absolute best position for himself in his career.
However, I think in this fight I’m going to have to pick Hamill. I think The Ultimate Fighter 3 veteran has some exceptional wrestling, good chin, powerful punches, slick head movement, and will be able to take down Ortiz and win a decision from ground and pounding his coach from TUF 3. I think striking wise Ortiz might be a more technical striker and has a lot more experience, but I think Hamill will handle himself well with his aggression, good head movement, and extreme force in which he punches and kicks. He was able to oustrike Michael Bisping for a lot of their bout, which surprised many who were used to Hamill fighting with a very rudimentary style of boxing. He’s certainly come a long way.
I think Ortiz will be on his back for much of the fight, and I actually think he might have a good chance to catch Hamill. That might be the best chance for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” to win. Ortiz has some solid BJJ and Hamill could potentially get caught. I’m banking that Hamill won’t get caught, will be able to stuff most of Ortiz’s takedowns, do well on the feet, and plant Ortiz on his back and score a ground and pound victory. It’s going to be an interesting fight but I think Hamill will prevail in this one via decision.
Tito Ortiz vs Matt Hamill set for UFC 121 on October 23rd in Anaheim, California
Tito Ortiz and Matt Hamill are set to compete against one another at UFC 121, which will take place October 23rd in Anaheim, California.
This is an interesting matchup, because Ortiz served as coach for Hamill on season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The two formed a friendship and bond on the program.
Ortiz is coming off a loss in his last bout against Forrest Griffin, and coming off back surgery. Jardine was victorious in his last bout against Keith Jardine. This will be an interesting matchup, and a more intriguing on than Ortiz/Griffin and Ortiz/Liddell. Those two other matchups have already taken place twice, and this one is a fresh encounter between two solid 205ers.
Striking-wise, Ortiz might have the more refined Muay Thai technique, but Hamill is quite aggressive, has more power, and uses some good head movement in between hammering opponents with a stiff jab. Wrestling wise Hamill has an edge. He’s a big, strong, athletic wrestler who can take down Ortiz when he wishes to plant the Californian down on his back. Ortiz’s best shot in this bout might be the submission game. He has a wealth of experience training BJJ and if Hamill gets him down, Ortiz might have to pull out the ground technique to win this battle. Ortiz has a lot of submissions in his game, and almost pulled of a great triangle choke on Lyoto Machida as their fight ended.
Ortiz looked good in the second round against Forrest Griffin when the two 205ers fought for the second time. But in round 3 he gassed out and was getting hammered with strikes for much of the last 5 minutes. Hamill should be good to go cardio-wise and I feel will be able to do enough damage to win at least 2 of the 3 rounds to pick up the decision. Better wrestling and more aggressive standup and power will help him earn this win.