[UFC 109]: Relentless - White non ha gradito il battibecco tra Ortiz e Coleman. Coleman probabile carriera finita in UFC (06/02/2010)
UFC President Dana White seemed as perplexed by Tito Ortiz’s interruption of Mark Coleman’s post-fight interview as the rest of the audience was at UFC 109 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Ortiz, who is in town taking his second turn as a coach opposite Chuck Liddell on this season’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” caught the event cageside, and used his proximity to Coleman while exiting the arena to engage the former heavyweight champion verbally.
“F--- you, Tito,” Coleman said mid-interview, moments after losing a second-round submission to Randy Couture. “Any f---ing time, Tito. Anytime, d----bag.
Ortiz and Coleman had been originally scheduled to face off at UFC 106 last November until the Olympic wrestler withdrew with a knee injury. The 35-year-old Ortiz is now slated to meet Liddell a third time at the conclusion of the Spike reality TV series, likely at UFC 115 on June 12 at the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“Tito’s calling out Coleman when he’s fighting Chuck,” said White at the post-fight press conference. “I don’t even know what to say to that. That’s Tito.”
White had well-publicized bad blood with the former light heavyweight champion over the last few years, but the pair said their bruised past had been repaired when the polarizing Ortiz re-signed to a multi-fight contract with the organization on July 31. Still, White didn’t hide his displeasure at Ortiz’ tactics on Saturday.
“Guy just loses in the most important fight of his life. This meant more to Coleman than anything to fight Randy Couture and beat him,” said White. “He loses, he’s standing up there doing an interview and Tito’s screaming sh-- at him. Tito’s back.”
Mark Coleman, the first heavyweight champion in the promotion’s history, appears to have fought his last fight in the UFC.The 45-year-old submitted to a second-round rear-naked choke from fellow hall of famer Randy Couture in the UFC 109 “Relentless” main event on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Coleman has lost two of his three fights since returning from a decade-long absence from the Octagon.
“I think that was probably Coleman’s last fight in the UFC,” UFC President Dana White said. “Mark Coleman has always been a stand-up guy with me. I think he’s going to have a hard time competing with these guys at the top. Age is a factor with him.”
Coleman mounted virtually no offense against Couture, who bullied him into the cage and battered him the clinch. Couture took down the Columbus, Ohio, native without much resistance in the second round, quickly moved into a dominant position and dropped punches until his wilting foe surrendered his back. From there, the conclusion was a mere formality, as Couture delivered his first submission win in more than four years.
“[Coleman] wasn’t able to do anything,” White said. “Is a fighter ever accepting? It’s tough to say it’s over.”
