Don't call it a comeback

"Uh oh, light heavyweights. Tito Ortiz is baaaaaaaaaack."

Yesterday, Dana White held a press conference to make a litany of announcements regarding UFC. First and foremost, he addressed the Fedor situation, expressing disappointment in negotiations and clarifying that he had made every effort to sign the top heavyweight in the world, but felt negotiations were at an impasse.

In addition, White also announced the new main event for UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas, TX. Rich Franklin is still one half of that main event, but instead of a rematch with Dan Henderson, he'll be taking on newly signed Vitor Belfort, who will take part in his first UFC fight since a split decision loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51.

Speaking of Tito Ortiz, White confirmed after weeks of speculation that the former UFC light heavyweight champion is in fact returning to the UFC fold. After setting aside their differences, the two polarizing figures were able to reach an agreement that, according to White, will allow the fighter to "retire in the UFC."

Ortiz, who last fought at UFC 84 in a decision loss to current light heavyweight kingpin Lyota Machida, returns after back surgery which actually fused his spinal cord. It's similar to the surgery Nate Quarry had a couple years ago. Ortiz, battling back injuries dating back several years, has stated that this surgery will allow him to compete at 100% for the first time in a long time. While it remains to be seen how much of a difference this procedure will make at this stage of his career, the prospect of a "healthy" Ortiz is certainly enticing. Couple that with his incredible drawing power as a PPV machine, and you can see why White made a concerted effort to bridge the gap and make amends with the former champion. Certainly a victory for everyone involved, and personally, I'm hoping "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has one more run left in him.

That being said, Ortiz posted a video on YouTube yesterday documenting his first full day back in training. While it shows nothing ground breaking, the brutal honesty of the video should be received well. After showing several minutes of footage of Ortiz jump roping, working on strikes on a heavy bag and then practicing his infamous ground and pound, the video actually shows Ortiz rise up from the bag and scurry over to a garbage can, where he spends several moments vomiting into a garbage can in the corner. Props to Ortiz for including this in the video. I assume most fighters would be too embarassed to admit it even happened, never mind let you see first hand. He's embracing the fact that he's a long way away from being ready, which is a reason he declined a co-headliner at UFC 103 and is looking towards a November or December return. According to White, that could be against former UFC heavyweight champion and current Hall-0f-Famer Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. That could be an excellent matchup given that Coleman always comes to fight and would pit two extremely talented wrestlers against each other. For Ortiz, Coleman would present a solid threat, but also be the type of fight where Ortiz could likely survive the ring rust he'll expectedly have and still be able to earn a victory.

Here's the video of Ortiz's first day back training. It's a good watch, and a great intro into the LL Cool J track...



-Bess

Victor Martinez to Boston!

Sources say All-Star Victor Martinez is on his way to Boston in exchange for Justin Masterson and 2007 1st round draft pick Nick Hagadone.

But the big question remains... does Cleveland still go a head with "Victor Martinez Bobble-Head Night"... which is tomorrow at Progressive Field?

-Keefe

Manny & Ortiz Busted for Roids; Who Knew?

Well it shouldn't come as a major shock but Manny and Ortiz have surfaced on that "confindential" list of roughly 100 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003. With all of the "leaks" and a pair of players coming clean, we've got I believe 7 players from that list. They are...

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. Jason Grimsley

3. David Segui

4. Sammy Sosa

5. Barry Bonds

6. Manny Ramirez

7. David Ortiz

I'm not going to try and finger point and predict the rest of the group. Although that could be entertaining. Rather just take a look at the rosters from the 2003 All-Star Game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game

What a crew!

-Keefe

Fastest KO in MMA history

Step aside, Chris Clements. You now have company as owner, ahem, co-owner of the fastest recorded knockout in MMA history. Steve Ramirez (7-5) needed just 3 seconds to topple opponent Darven Wattree in his fight for "Pure Combat 9: Home Turf" this past weekend on July 25th. After refusing to touch gloves with Wattree and returning to his corner, Ramirez calmly came out, tossed a sweeping overhand right with ill intentions and found his mark. Wattree simultaneously dropped unconscious to the floor as well as to 2-3 in his pathetic fighting career. A loss like this to a guy of Ramirez's caliber does not bode well for future prospects, and while we hope Wattree is okay, we also hope he realizes he may need to look into another line of work.

Here's the clip:



And here's Clements' KO from "TKO 25":



I must say, Clements' KO is a little more entertaining for a few reasons. First, the footage is clearly better. No offense to the fan who captured Ramirez's KO, it's a job well done considering he's in the stands and using a home camera. But it doesn't get the up close shot we could've benefitted from. Secondly, what the hell was Lautaro Tucas doing? He sprinted at Clements with his hands by his side like a pansy, lept in the air with seemingly zero intention of doing anything, then wears a sledgehammer to his face and immediately has his lights turned off. Thricely, the finishing blows when he's clearly unconscious, thus bouncing his head up and down off the canvas, are a terrific watch.

Perhaps Tucas and Wattree should fight each other with the loser being forced into the retirement and the winner being forced into retirement anyway. Both of these guys suck. I actually just knocked out both of them as I posted this blog entry and I didn't even have to get up off the couch.

The one thing that bothers me about the Ramirez KO is that he refused to touch gloves with Wattree. What a bag of douche. As if it's that hard. I know Ramirez touched gloves with him when they first got to the center of the cage, but who does that anyway? You typically do it after the referee instructs you to do so, so figure it out. You've had 12 fights now, make an adjustment. You're not Brock Lesnar and you're not in UFC. You're fighting for Pure Combat 9, which nobody really cares about. So stop being a loser and just touch the guys gloves when you're supposed to instead of showing him up when he made the gesture after receiving your instructions.

But anyway, which of these record breaking KO's is your favorite? Sound off...

-Bess

Cliff Lee to Phillies; What about Halladay?

2008 A.L. Cy Young winner Cliff Lee has been sent to the Phillies along with OF Ben Francisco for 4 prospects not named J.A. Happ or Kyle Drabek. The defending champs did not want to give up their 2 best young arms, but still wanted to improve their team. They did, but Lee is not Halladay.

Could Halladay be coming to Boston? The recent rumor says Clay Buchholz, a choice of Justin Masterson, Michael Bowdoin, or Lars Anderson, as well as lesser prospects. Make this happen! If the Sox get Halladay they will see Manny Ramirez, Cliff Lee, or gulp Julio Lugo in the World Series.

Trade deadline on Friday 4pm. The Sports Brief will hit you with the winners and losers.

-Keefe

Captain Hook vs. Left Hook

Roy Jones...er Captain Hook looks ready to take on Left Hook Lacy. What more can you say?

TUF 10 Cast Video preview

This season of TUF is going to be absolutely insane...is it September 16 yet?!?!?!


Ultimate Fighter Cast Preview

-Bess