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Re: UFC 40 Vendetta
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On November 22nd, the match that nobody thought could ever realistically take place, will finally go down as the main event at UFC 40. A "Vendetta" aptly names what Ken Shamrock feels he owes Ortiz in the twilight of his career. What began back in 1999, is culminating to a boiling point and might finally close the book on one of the biggest stories of rivalry and unfinished business in the history of modern mixed martial arts.
It began back in 1999 when Tito handed a serious beatdown to Shamrock's pupil, Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18, then at UFC 19 he dispatched another Shamrock fighter, Guy Mezger. After his win he dawned a T-shirt printed with "Gay Mezger is my bitch". Shamrock climb the cage and went ballistic with finger pointing and brow beating only a mother could understand. Tito stood waiting for his hand to be raised screaming "You started it. I finished it. Stop stuttering you steroid freak!" The war of the four letter words went back and forth for some time. Back in the dressing room, Ken's Lions Den troupe began talk of furthering the "discussion" with Ortiz back at the hotel. Ken's adopted dad preached for constraint. Ken just wanted an SEG official in the room so he could make a formal complaint about his claim that Tito won with illegal blows to the back of the skull. In any case, that set the tone for the dislike between Tito Ortiz and the pride of the Lion's Den.
Since that time, Shamrock, who last fought for the UFC in 1996, went on to revive his pro wrestling career and fought in the MMA arena 4 times. His last bout, taking place at Pride 19, was an all out war with aging fellow combatant Don Frye. The two stood toe-to-toe slinging punches like a good old street fight and Ken also showed signs of his old Pancrase days as he tore Frye's knee with a heel hook that Don refused to tap from. In the end he lost, but proved he still had the heart and determination to take the fight to anybody in the ring. Tito Ortiz, during this time, has stuck with the UFC and made the Light Heavyweight Title his, and currently lays claim to the #1 light heavyweight in the World. His only loss came to Ken's adopted brother, Frank Shamrock, immediately following the Mezger fight, but it made him the monster he has become today, owning the weight class that Ken will be entering to try to dethrone him. He rattled off 5 consecutive wins, but suffered a career threatening knee injury while training takedowns in practice. Knee surgery and months of therapy later, he will finally be making his return to the Octagon, over a year since his last Title defense.
Zuffa spent 4 months trying to put this match up together and it seems to be paying off. At 4 weeks out from the showdown between Tito and Ken, An estimated 7000, out of 14000 available seats have already sold for the event at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. That's a staggering number when compared to other combat sport receipt sales. Ticket sales have traditionally been a strong indicator of how well PPV numbers will do with boxing and they are hoping this indicator works for MMA as well. There is little doubt that Vendetta will sellout, and that will make this the largest crowd to ever witness a live mixed martial arts event in North America. Make no mistake, Tito's status as the most recognizable UFC star coupled with Ken Shamrock's pro wrestling crossover and legendary status lingering with him from the old "There are no Rules" days of the UFC has made this event into a bout of titanic proportions. The UFC is expecting double the press attendance for this event, with a number of networks with their eye on the possibility of taking the show to network television. This match up is all that they hoped it to be so far. It has brought more publicity eyes to this one event than most all other UFC's combined.
Can this one match live up to the hype? There is almost no way it can. Unless Tito and Ken stand in the middle of the Octagon and go toe-to-toe until one of them drops, it won't. What the real question is, with all of the build up and the total dislike that Ken has for Tito, will the game plan for both camps go out the window? That is the key to this fight being epic after "Big" John McCarthy finally says, "Let's get it on!" Will Ken see red as soon as there is no one standing between him and the kid that beat up his students? Will Tito's bravado lead him to make an example out of Ken that he is the new breed of fighter and his time has passed? Despite popular belief that this is all an act to sell tickets, Ken wants ever so badly to ram his fist down Tito's throat. He wants to rip off any limb he gets a hold of. He wants to teach Tito Ortiz the meaning of respect by beating the life out of him. Make no mistake, Ken is the old General on the battlefield, carrying the weight of his troops on his shoulders, as this is the last stand for the Lion's Den. That's a heavy burden. Tito wants to keep that belt. His entire existence, over the past 3 years, has revolved around the fact that he owns the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. He's the franchise. He's who the press wants to speak to. He's the one the people ask for when the UFC does meet and greets. He's the one that they want the interview from when discussing this budding sport of MMA. In a nutshell, the UFC is his identity. Without it, he is just another fighter in a sea of mediocrity for which the sport of MMA, as a whole is relegated too. Tito has been one of the few, if not the only one, to swim out of, if only so far.
This could be a good old fashioned throw down, or worse, it could be a calculated bout both fighters are so well known for. Tito and Ken, while fantastic at selling the fight outside of the ring, have both been accused of being less than stellar inside the ring. Ken has been a part of some of the most mind-numbing bouts in MMA history (remember Ken-Royce II, and Ken-Severn II), while Tito's workman like destruction of most fighters have involved a lot of ground-and-pounding that is methodical and,well,boring. Let's cross our fingers and hope that Ken is just so damn pissed at Tito and Tito is so defiant of this father figure trying to bully him around, that they both throw caution to wind and let everything fly come go time.
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