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[budo_tony]

First off how are you?

"Great Chris. I just got done doing my boxing training, taking a little break, and getting to talk to you."

On September 26th you will be fighting Randy Corture at UFC 44 for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship. What are your thoughts on the fight?

"I think it will be one of the greatest fights in UFC history. It seems that every time I fight it is one of the biggest fights of my life. Randy Corture brings everything to the table of course being the two time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is cutting down to my weight, a world class wrestler, and his boxing and jujitsu skills are decent. People should expect one of the best fights in UFC history."

Before Randy Corture defeated Chuck Lidell at UFC 43, there were many reports that you didn't want to fight Chuck Lidell. After your right with Randy Corture win or lose would you then be interested in fighting Chuck Lidell or who else would you like to fight?

"I would like to fight Chuck Lidell. It is just the fact that my contract makes sense, and I wasn't going to compete under the contract they had me under just do to what I thought was fair. We made the contract make sense, and now it is whoever steps in front of me, and Randy Corture is the next victim on Tito Ortiz's list."

A few months back there were rumors you were in possible negotiations with WWE. Has there ever been any interest on your part to head to WWE?

"There has been no interest at all. About three years ago there was a little interest when I went to a WrestleMania and those guys are brutal and real athletes, and of course it is choreographed, but just the things they do is really brutal on the body, and I wasn't ready to be on the road 250 days a year. That rumor was strictly an April Fool's joke."

There has been talk that Vince McMahon might be interested in buying the UFC, and there are other people possibly interested in buying it as well. What are your thoughts on that?

"I am not sure that it is for sale, but whoever buys it they better make sure they know what they are doing because as far as in Vince McMahon's hands he can make it in the mainstream, but it's not something that you choreograph like professional wrestling. This is a real sport that is competition, and when you have two athletes competing its kinda hard to build fighters. In this type of martial arts a person can lose really easy."

Do you feel you avenged your loss to Frank Shamrock at UFC 22 by beating his adopted brother Ken Shamrock at UFC 40?

"No. Not at all. I think those are two different situations because Frank Shamrock was his own person and Ken Shamrock was his own person. The loss I got to Frank Shamrock was a learning experience, and it was a year in a half for me competing in UFC, and it was my first championship fight, and I came up short at the end of the fourth round. When I fought Ken Shamrock at UFC 40, it was a sign of a new champion, and it was then I competed. I completely dominated him and I stopped him at the end of the third round. I think it was a chance for people to see how tough Tito Ortiz is. Frank Shamrock is a totally different fighter."

Do you think UFC 40 against Ken Shamrock was the biggest pay perview and fight for UFC and your career?

"The biggest up to that date, but it seems everyone of my fights gets bigger and bigger because I have to retain my UFC Lightweight Championship every time, and this will be my sixth title defense, and no one has ever done that."

At UFC 30 you shocked the MMA world with a 30 second destruction of the highly rated Evan Tanner. How big of a statement was that for you?

"That was a huge statement for me. It showed also that when I come in the octagon I am a really dangerous fighter. I was training for two and a half months, and I thought I was in for a war. I picked him up and slammed him and added a few shots and he was out cold. It came as a real surprise to me, but when I train really hard and dedicate myself to the sport, matches like that can happen and be easy."

When do you think a fighter peaks in mixed martial arts competition? Don't you think it is a blend of technique and physical preparation?

"I believe that in MMA it is a mixture of physical conditioning and mental conditioning. It is a really crazy game because if you lose your guidance and spot in the middle of the match you have a chance of losing completely. You can't relax and you have to be on your A game all the time. This is very different then a wrestling match or boxing match, but one little mistake can end a match in seconds."

What are your thoughts on UFC President Dana White?

"He is doing a great job thus far. He has a lot of stuff on his table as he has to do a lot of work, and he carries a lot of weight. He spends a lot of time away from his family, and he works very hard for the UFC. I think a lot of people need to realize that he spends a lot of time behind the desk, and he tries to make it better for the fighters and the fans."

What are your thoughts on former UFC Champion Josh Barnett testing positive for steroids, and do you think steroids is a problem within the world of ultimate fighting?

"I don't think it is a problem within ultimate fighting itself. I think it is a problem throughout all athletes. There are guys that have self confidence and believing in themselves and doing it themselves, and people trying to do steroids to cut weight or build muscle mass. I am not a believer in steroids, and I have never taken them in my life. I just believe in dedicating myself to my training. If you need to take something to make yourself a better athlete then you better pick up a different sport because if you're not caught the first time then you need to do something else."

Final comments?

"No one fights like Tito Ortiz. People are going to feel the power that Tito Ortiz brings in. For everyone out there you may not fight like the champ, but you can dress like the champ at [link widoczny dla zalogowanych Użytkowników] and you can check out my website or shoot me an email at [link widoczny dla zalogowanych Użytkowników]"