UFC 106 Post-Fight: Tito Thought He Was Robbed, No Title Shot For Koscheck

At the UFC 106 post-fight press conference, Tito Ortiz basically gave the press the long-version of his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. He was injured, couldn’t spar during training, thought he won the fight, thought he was robbed and thought he won the Fight of the Night bonus.

“I thought I won the first round and I thought I won the second round. I got two takedowns you see the damage on his face. I got him good. In the third round I was gassed. After 18 months off, I want to see another fighter come in after back surgery and do what I did. And for me not getting Fight of the Night, I’m taken back by it.”

Koscheck’s look at the 2:30 mark pretty much sums up what everyone was thinking. Tito may have a point about the Fight of the Night bonus, but he didn’t win that fight and he definitely wasn’t robbed. Even if you give Tito the edge in the first two rounds, does anyone actually think Tito deserved to be called the winner after a third round spent doing practically nothing other than impersonating a punching bag? Well, I don’t, and it’s just another illustration why the 10-point must system needs to go in mixed martial arts, at least in it’s current form.

What’s next for Tito? Well, he wants the rubber match, which Dana says is a possibility, and he even floated the idea of him and Forrest coaching season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter to build it. It would make for interesting television I suppose, but do we really need the rubber match as soon as next summer? There’s also been rumors floating around about Chuck Liddell and Tito coaching next season. That would make more sense if you ask me. Forrest bounced back well last night, and I think he deserves the opportunity to start climbing the ladder once again. Many writers and fans are already talking about Forrest vs. Lil Nog. I don’t know about you, but I’m down for that.

Despite calling out Dan Hardy and declaring himself the welterweight division’s true number one contender in front of millions of people, Josh Koscheck won’t be getting the next title shot. Dana says Kos is in the mix like he always is, but they’ve already announced the GSP-Hardy fight. Koscheck was a little disappointed, but kept his spirits up and says he just wants to keep fighting, every month if he has his way, and keep getting paid.

And getting paid he did. Dana awarded him $140,000 in bonus money for his performance against Anthony Johnson. Koscheck said he wanted to weather the early storm and use his wrestling to take Johnson down and submit him, which was exactly what happened. Meanwhile, Johnson said the eye pokes took him out of game giving Koscheck the opening to take over the fight.

“I didn’t hit him in the head, I hit him in the arm. I don’t know why he would act like [that], I guess he was gassing. That’s the only thing I can think of, [him] trying to find some kind of excuse to complain. I know I didn’t hit him in the head. I thought I timed it perfect but I didn’t and that’s my fault. After him poking me in the eye it made a big difference. Then he did it twice and got both eyes the second time because when he swings, he jabs with his open hand and the right didn’t even hit me, it was just the open palm strike and my eyes, my eyes are burning like hell right now. After I hurt him, he needed that, he needed some kind of excuse to recover, but it’s all good.”

It was a weird night, but with everything going on with the UFC these days, I guess we should have expected it.

 

UFC 106 ‘Ortiz vs Griffin 2′ Results, Wrap-Up, Bonuses & Live Gate

UFC 106 PosterUFC 106 took place earlier this evening at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the night’s main event, Tito Ortiz returned to the UFC in a rematch against Forrest Griffin.

Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck stepped up on short notice to take each other on in a welterweight match-up.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira made his UFC debut against Luiz Cane.

Phil Baroni returned to the UFC to take on TUF 7 champ Amir Sadollah.

Paulo Thiago and Jacob Volkmann met in a welterweight contest.

Results, thoughts, bonuses and live gate (when available) after the jump.

 

UFC 106 Pre-Fight Press Conference: Ortiz, Griffin, Koscheck, Johnson

Here’s excerpts from the UFC 106 pre-fight press conference. Also, interviews with Tito Ortiz, Anthony Johnson, Phil Baroni and Tim Credeur after the jump. All videos courtesy of Heavy.com.

 

UFC 106 ‘Ortiz vs Griffin 2′ Preview, Picks & Betting Odds

UFC 106 will take place tomorrow, November 21, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air live on pay-per-view at 10PM ET/7PM PT. The weigh-ins will be held this evening at 7PM ET/4PM PT at the Mandalay Bay, and will stream live on UFC.com.

If you’re the gambling type, we recommend visiting BetUS. BetUS is currently offering a $75 bonus for depositing $200.

Odds below are from BetUS and are subject to change. Feel free to check out the live lines on our UFC Betting Odds page for the most up-to-date betting odds.

The Fights

Minus (-) = favorite | Plus (+) = underdog

With a line of -150 & +150, you would have to wager $150 to win $100 if you’re picking the favorite. You would win $150 for every $100 if you bet on the underdog assuming he won.

Good luck!

Preview and picks after the jump.

Images via CombatLifestyle.com

 

UFC 106 ‘Ortiz vs Griffin 2′ Pre-Fight Interviews: The Undercard

Josh Koscheck & Anthony Johnson

UFC 106 pre-fight interviews via Heavy.com.

 

UFC 106 ‘Ortiz vs Griffin 2′ Preview: Josh Koscheck vs Anthony Johnson

Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson square off this Saturday, Nov. 21, at UFC 106.

 

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson In The UFC 106 Co-Main Event (Update)

Josh Koscheck Announces UFC 106 Fight

Josh Koscheck says he’s co-headlining UFC 106 against…well, actually he left that part out, but we can guess, right?

The big three in the welterweight division — GSP, Fitch, Alves — are out of the question which really doesn’t leave any co-main event worthy fights, but with the hand they’ve been dealt, we can cut the UFC a little slack, can’t we?

The obvious choice would be Matt Hughes, but he hasn’t shown much interest in fighting Koscheck and who even knows what kind of shape he’s in at the moment. This may be me talking out of my ass, but I’m thinking Anthony Johnson. Yes, he just fought, but he didn’t take an ounce of damage against Yoshida or even break a sweat. Plus, he kinda owes the UFC one with his whole weight fiasco. Oh, and here he is conveniently ready to get back in the Octagon ASAP against tougher competition.

I promise you, if the UFC calls me again ASAP, I’ll be ready. Like I told my coaches and my squad, I said, ‘yo, Monday I’m still sticking to my diet. I’m not trying to even take that chance again…I spoke to Dana, I told him I was sorry. I told Joe Silva I was sorry. Just talking to the fans after the fight saying I was sorry, to me it felt like it was a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I’ll say it again, I’m sorry right now. I still feel bad that I didn’t make weight because fans want to see fighters go by the rules, and I’m the type of guy who wants to go by the rules. I don’t want to have an upper-hand…Before this fight, I even had it in my head that the UFC’s going to bump me up to someone who’s even tougher and I’m expecting it.

Sounds like a perfect match for this last-minute booking to me.

Update: Nice, I wasn’t talking out of my ass for a change. The UFC was thinking Anthony Johnson too.

Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson have verbally agreed to fight each other at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas, Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the bout.

 

UFC 104 ‘Machida vs Shogun’ Fighter Payouts

MoneyThe CSAC has released the fighter payouts for UFC 104. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional “locker room” bonuses, pay-per-view revenue sharing, or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

 

UFC 104 In Pictures

Shogun Rua & Lyoto Machida raise their hands in victory at UFC 104

 

UFC 104 Post-Fight Press Conference News & Notes: Machida-Shogun Immediate Rematch

UFC 104 Pre-Fight Press ConferenceVideo of the UFC 104 post-fight press conference can be seen on UFC.com. Here’s a rundown of news and notes from the conference (paraphrased, not quotes).