.jpg)
Redemption wasn't to be for veteran
UFC great,
Tito Ortiz. Two weeks ago, we brought you a story leading into UFC 84, about Ortiz's match-up against rising fighter, Lyoto Machida. Ortiz, once the undisputed king of the Light Heavyweight class, was looking to prove himself still a worthy UFC draw.
In the main fight card, the World Lightweight championship was on the line for B.J. Penn to defend against a hungry and vindictive Sean Sherk, who was raring to reclaim the title he contends was wrongly stripped from him in the first place. Sadly, for the battle-worn old guard and the wounded soldier, UFC 84 at the MGM Grand brought no vindication but only humiliation and heartbreak.
"I didn't even hear the bell ring," Sherk said.
Before he even knew what hit him, Sherk's face was already a bloody mess of swollen and abused tissue by the third of a scheduled five-round bout. Sherk's dreams of getting back his belt quickly met with rude-awakening resistance as Penn's jujitsu-trained knee connected with Sherk's face. Sherk crumpled to the canvas, where he received further punishment as Penn kept up the attack with nine crushing blows to the head. It was at that point when the ref intervened and decided to stop the abuse, giving Penn the win via TKO.
Earlier that evening, Ortiz, already smarting from a tumultuous and rocky relationship with UFC president, Dana White, failed to rack up the points and lost all three rounds unanimously on the judges' scorecards. After effectively steering clear of Ortiz's patented take-down attempts, while peppering Ortiz with his own combination of kicks and counterpunches, Lyoto Machida put the final nail on the coffin with a knee to the ribs, which sent the former champ down on the canvas.
"I gave 11 years to this octagon and it's too bad that I'm leaving right now," Ortiz said in what appears to be his UFC swan song. "I'll be going to greener pastures, I hope, for the future."
-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Los Angeles Times
(Image Courtesy of AP)