Why I miss Tito Ortiz in the UFC
The UFC needs to find the next "Huntington Beach Bad Boy". The thing that made Tito great for MMA and the UFC was that you either loved him or hated him. The reason his PPV's still rank as some of the most watched in the history of the UFC is that just as many people bought them hoping to see Tito get his but kicked as did to see him win. There are lots of fighters in the UFC I like right now, but not one I hate, which is just as important to me.
Lets look at the Champions of each division. Randy "The Natural" Couture is loved by all...Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira...nope you have to understand someone before you can dislike them...Forrest Griffin has some people that dislike him, but he is no "Bad Boy"....No one is dumb enough not to like Anderson "The Spyder" Silva...GSP is always humble after displaying his greatness...BJ Penn might be the one.
So the only UFC Champion that is close is BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. BJ is way cocky, but he just doesn't have the whole "Bad Boy" vibe that Tito made work so well. If you look at non Champions, there are really only two possibilities. You could go with Rashad Evans or Brock Lesnar. Brock is supremely talented, is getting a title shot way too soon in his career, and will beat one of the UFC's beloved if he becomes the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Rashad Evans is also getting a title shot, but he earned his by beating one of the UFC favorites when he recently defeated Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. The big reason to dislike Rashad is the "Sugar" personality he has inside the octagon, but to be the next "Bad Boy" you have to be disliked out of the octagon also. So Rashad is out of the running. In his post fight interviews, he is way to humble to be the next Tito.
I can picture lots of fans hating Brock Lesnar if he beats Randy Couture. If he acts like he did after beating Heath Herring, the few fans that haven't will definitely turn on him. If that happens, we could be in for a long title reign by a heavyweight that no one really likes, but you have to watch just hoping you get to see the beat down he has coming. So for now, I declare Brock Lesnar and as my new Tito.
Lets look at the Champions of each division. Randy "The Natural" Couture is loved by all...Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira...nope you have to understand someone before you can dislike them...Forrest Griffin has some people that dislike him, but he is no "Bad Boy"....No one is dumb enough not to like Anderson "The Spyder" Silva...GSP is always humble after displaying his greatness...BJ Penn might be the one.
So the only UFC Champion that is close is BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. BJ is way cocky, but he just doesn't have the whole "Bad Boy" vibe that Tito made work so well. If you look at non Champions, there are really only two possibilities. You could go with Rashad Evans or Brock Lesnar. Brock is supremely talented, is getting a title shot way too soon in his career, and will beat one of the UFC's beloved if he becomes the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Rashad Evans is also getting a title shot, but he earned his by beating one of the UFC favorites when he recently defeated Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. The big reason to dislike Rashad is the "Sugar" personality he has inside the octagon, but to be the next "Bad Boy" you have to be disliked out of the octagon also. So Rashad is out of the running. In his post fight interviews, he is way to humble to be the next Tito.
I can picture lots of fans hating Brock Lesnar if he beats Randy Couture. If he acts like he did after beating Heath Herring, the few fans that haven't will definitely turn on him. If that happens, we could be in for a long title reign by a heavyweight that no one really likes, but you have to watch just hoping you get to see the beat down he has coming. So for now, I declare Brock Lesnar and as my new Tito.
