Reports of Tito Ortiz's demise are greatly exaggerated.The former light-heavyweight champ not only still has a job, he's also got his next matchup set.
UFC president Dana White in a fan question-and-answer session in Germany on Friday confirmed that Ortiz would likely face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March 2011.
The UFC has yet to make any March events official, though the company's return visit to Abu Dhabi is almost a certainty, and Ortiz-Nogueira would probably take place there.
Just three weeks ago, Ortiz extended his winless streak to five straight matches, falling in a unanimous decision to Matt Hamill.
Afterward, White seemed to hint that Ortiz had taken his last turn in the octagon, saying, "He's lost like four in a row. And I think we know what happens when you lose four in a row in the UFC. This is the big leagues, man."
Ortiz (15-8-1) hasn't won a pro fight since October 2006, when he TKO'd Ken Shamrock. He held the UFC's light-heavyweight championship from Sept. 1999 to Sept. 2003 but in recent years has suffered through back injuries that hampered him in the cage.
It seemed like the loss to Hamill would be the last straw for Ortiz, but he'll get one more crack at victory in an octagon against Nogueira, the 34-year-old twin brother of former UFC interim heavyweight champ and PRIDE champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
"Little Nog," 19-4 overall, won his first two UFC starts before suffering his first defeat, losing in a decision to Ryan Bader at UFC 119.
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