Liddell, Ortiz to fight for third time later this year

Nearly 12 years after their last bout, MMA legends Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will meet for a third time later this year, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions confirmed Monday.

“I’m proud to announce we’ve signed a deal for the fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz,” De La Hoya said in a statement to ESPN. “This will be huge for sports fans around the world. Ortiz and Liddell are two of the most recognized fighters in MMA history. They are legends in the sport.

“Everyone remembers their rivalry helped put the sport on the map, and we’re excited to host the next and final chapter of this historic rivalry.”

According to the report, De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions signed promotional agreements with both fighters to hold the fight under the Golden Boy banner. A date and location “are being finalized and should be announced soon,” according to the ESPN report, with the fight to take place inside a cage and not a ring.

It will be Golden Boy’s first MMA pay-per-view.

“It feels great to sign a deal, to be honest with you. It’s as exciting as I knew it would be,” Liddell, 48, told ESPN. “Golden Boy offers something different. We’re partners in this. And I never get sick of punching Tito.”

“I’m only interested in fighting Chuck at this time,” Ortiz, 43, countered. “If anything, the rivalry is worse than it ever was. This isn’t made for TV. This is as real as it gets.”

Later Monday, Ortiz already got the promotional train rolling, retweeting Okamoto’s tweet announcing the news with a little jab of his own.

“Let the Punishment begin!!!!” the tweet read.

According to ESPN, Ortiz has already begun training for the fight.

In their last fight in December 2006, Liddell scored a third-round knockout of Ortiz at UFC 66, with the event bringing in a live gate of nearly $5.4 million. They fought for the first time in April 2004, with Liddell winning that by second-round TKO.

Liddell retired from fighting in 2010, while Ortiz came out of retirement in 2014 to fight four times, most recently beating Chael Sonnen in January 2017.

“Just like boxing fans remember the historic rivalry between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, so do MMA fans remember the rivalry between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz,” Golden Boy president Eric Gomez said. “But Liddell-Ortiz never got their third fight. This time fans will get to see the third fight. They’ll see the culmination of a heated trilogy that was pivotal for the sport.”

–Field Level Media