The legend deserved the benefit of the doubt. He deserved the chance to go into the cage against another top fighter, to measure himself up, to see where he stands in the modern MMA world.
LAS VEGAS -- On the latest edition of FanHouse at the Ultimate Fighting Championship, we were joined by UFC welterweight star Jon Fitch to preview Saturday night's UFC 106 card.
At first glance, the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin UFC 106 main event seems simple enough to diagnose. It's Ortiz's wrestling against Griffin's active standup, right? It'll be a carbon copy of their UFC 59 matchup, right?
Maybe, but maybe not.
After all, who can really say with any certainty what Ortiz will look like in the octagon after nearly 18 months away from the sport, after surgery, rehab and a taxing training camp? Unless you had eyes in his Big Bear facility, there is really no way of knowing.
In 2007, Jake Rosholt entered the world of MMA as a bona fide blue-chip recruit. A four-time collegiate wrestling All-American and three-time NCAA champion, Rosholt was signed by a major promotion (the WEC) just over a year after his debut, and joined the UFC in February.
After dropping a submission loss in his UFC debut, he rebounded impressively with a submission of his own over gritty veteran Chris Leben in his most recent matchup. That victory propelled him to the opportunity to fight Kendall Grove at Saturday night's UFC 106.
Rosholt recently took a few moments from his pre-fight preparation to discuss his fight with Grove, suffering growing pains in front of a worldwide audience, his thoughts on the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin main event, and more.
The UFC's cable broadcast home Spike will air two UFC 106 preliminary matchups prior to the pay-per-view portion of the card, a pair of sources confirmed to FanHouse on Tuesday.
The two bouts scheduled to air include the welterweight clash between Marcus Davis and Ben Saunders, as well as a middleweight tangle pitting Jake Rosholt against Kendall Grove.
An official announcement of the broadcast should come in the next day or two.
UFC 106 will now be headlined by former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin at the pay-per-view event on Nov. 21 emanating from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
In a major blow to the Nov. 21 UFC 106 card in Vegas, the heavyweight championship bout between titleholder Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin has been scrapped.
If the Lyoto Machida-Shogun Rua fight at UFC 104 had gone the way everyone expected -- Machida handily defeating Shogun to retain his title -- the UFC would have faced a quandary with its light heavyweight division. Machida would be perceived as so dominant that there wouldn't be any particularly interesting fights for him, and the stacked UFC light heavyweight division might have started to feel a little stale.
In short order, Lyoto Machida has become MMA's golden child, captivating fans around the world with his inimitable style and perfect record. But it wasn't too long ago that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was MMA's flavor of the month.
The last 24 hours have given us some big news on the two biggest MMA cards of the fall: The November 21 UFC 106 got better with Forrest Griffin stepping in for the injured Mark Coleman to face Tito Ortiz, while the November 7 Strikeforce/M-1 Global card got better with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou facing Gegard Mousasi.
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