DETROIT -- After dropping a decision loss to Matt Hamill, a result that pushed his winless streak to five straight fights, it seemed that Tito Ortiz's days in the UFC were over. UFC president Dana White even hinted at cutting Ortiz at the press conference just hours after the MMA legend and UFC building block lost to Matt Hamill.Suddenly and without warning, though, White reversed course, confirming that Ortiz would get another match in the UFC.
On Wednesday, White explained his decision-making process, but he warned, it'd be the Huntington Beach Bad Boy's last shot to keep his UFC career alive.
"I thought I was going to cut him, too," White told the media after a press conference for Saturday night's UFC 123. "I talked to Tito. Me and him had a conversation. Tito said, 'I'm not done. I feel healthy, I feel good.' And he asked me for one last chance. So I'm going to do it."
That last chance will be no gimme. The 35-year-old Ortiz (15-8-1) is expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March 2011.
Ortiz's last win came in October 2006, when he TKO'd Ken Shamrock. After a rough stretch that included two surgeries to go with his bad streak in the ring, White made it clear that Ortiz is down to one last opportunity to save his job and keep a legendary UFC career alive.
"I'm not the evil bastard everyone thinks I am," White said. "But it's definitely his last chance. He knows that, too."
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