UFC 106 Preview: Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-6-1, 14-6-1 UFC) vs. "The Original Ultimate Fighter" Forrest Griffin (16-6-0, 7-4-0 UFC)

The Story So Far

The UFC version of "The Replacements," as Ortiz was originally slated to face Mark Coleman in the co-main event before Brock Lesnar came down with what eventually was diagnosed as intestinal issues and "The Hammer" came up lame.

When Coleman went down, Griffin got the call and the UFC hype machine went into overdrive, promoting this rematch of Forrest Griffin's first UFC loss as some kind of highly-anticipated, long-awaited reward of a bout instead of what it truly is, a decent last-minute creation that really doesn't pack much of a punch.

Conventional Wisdom

A lot of people are seriously down on this fight and while there is certainly some validity to it, there has been far worse than Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin atop the marquee (cough Silva vs. Leites cough) that wasn't a last minute fix.

Obviously, questions surround both fighters, as Ortiz is making his first trip into the cage in well over a year and hasn't beaten a soul since stopping Ken Shamrock a third time in 2006. And honestly, Shamrock was already washed up then, so you have to go back to the first time these two met to find a fight Ortiz won that actually carried any weight.

Mr. Jenna Jameson isn't the only one inspiring a number of questions heading into this fight, as the last time we saw Forrest Griffin he was making like Forrest Gump and running from the ring after taking a beating from Anderson Silva at UFC 102.

While people wonder what kind of physical shape Ortiz will enter the cage in and how the ring rust will affect him, it's Griffin's mental state and memory that have people asking questions of him heading into this headliner.

WKR Analysis

There is a good chance this fight surprises all the naysayers out there.

Chances are neither guy is going to knock the other out, which means a remake of their original toe-to-toe confrontation is a real possibility and that was a highly-entertaining fight.

Now, this fight certainly doesn't have any direct title implications or anything like that, but it will answer some important questions for both fighters moving forward.

What can we expect from Tito? Where does Forrest Griffin fit at 205? Is either fighter anything more than a gatekeeper?

While it may not be the major battle that inspires thousands to shell out $50, it's easily worth the $5 cover at your local watering hole to see a good tilt between to hugely popular fighters.

Fun Facts

Jacob Christopher Ortiz. That's the name on Tito's birth certificate.

Griffin got a $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus for getting KTFO'd by Silva at UFC 102.