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Press Release: Tito Ortiz vs. Rampage In Bellator On 02/11
By: tnafanforum Date: August 1, 2013, 3:56 am
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Spike TV and Bellator MMA issued the following press release on
Wednesday evening:
BELLATOR ANNOUNCES RAMPAGE VS. TITO PAY-PER-VIEW
Live Saturday, November 2nd
Newport Beach, CA. (Wednesday, July 31st) – It was announced
live inside the Bellator cage tonight that two of the biggest
names in MMA Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito “The People’s
Champion” Ortiz will meet in a light heavyweight battle live on
PPV Saturday, November 2nd. The announcement was made with both
Rampage and Tito inside the Bellator cage to a nationally
televised audience on Spike TV at Bellator 97 inside The Santa
Ana Star Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Rampage vs. Tito” will be held at Southern California’s Long
Beach Arena, with tickets on sale at 10 AM PST this Saturday,
August 3rd. Tickets can be purchased on Bellator.com,
Ticketmaster.com, as well as at the Long Beach Arena Box Office.
“To have two of the biggest names in MMA headline our first PPV
is awesome,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Rampage
vs. Tito is a fight I’ve wanted to see for years and to have it
as our Main Event on our first Pay-Per-View is a spectacular
next step in Bellator’s evolution. They’re both re-energized,
excited and ready for a war. This will be a great fight.”
“Honestly, I feel like I’ve been re-born.,” Jackson said. “My
excitement, energy and aggression, it’s all back and bigger than
ever. I feel like a kid again. The Rampage you’ll see Nov. 2nd
will be better than any Rampage you’ve ever seen. Everybody
knows Tito and I have a very long history. He’s a former
teammate and friend, and it’s one of the reasons I stayed away
from the UFC as long as I did. But, I want to be very clear; any
sort of friendship we once had doesn’t exist when that cage door
shuts. I’ve got a ton to prove on November 2nd, and
unfortunately for Tito he’s the guy I have to make an example
of. He’s in my house now and Saturday, November 2nd on PPV, it’s
going to be a horrible night for Tito Ortiz.”
“I’m back,” Ortiz stated. “Over the last few years, my passion
for MMA was completely killed, dealing with UFC politics and
with Dana. I didn’t have that drive to compete, my heart wasn’t
in it. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my
shoulders. I’m free. Bjorn and Bellator put together an
opportunity that made me part of the promotion, part of the
family. I feel like I can breathe again and my old friend is
going to be on the receiving end of all that happiness turned
into an old school Tito Ortiz ground and pound beating. I’ve
fought and beaten the very best in MMA history and on Nov. 2nd,
Rampage will be the next huge win on my record. This is a new
era for the People’s Champion.”
Jackson arrived in Bellator in June as a former Pride and UFC
champion, having last fought on Spike TV in September 2007, in a
fight vs. Dan Henderson that drew nearly 6 million viewers,
making it one of the most watched fights in the sport’s history.
In 2009, Jackson served as a coach on Spike’s “The Ultimate
Fighter: Heavyweights,” the highest-rated season by far in
franchise history, delivering over 3 million viewers per week.
Rampage joins a Bellator Light Heavyweight division that
features “King Mo”, Emanuel Newton, Vladimir Matyushenko, Attila
Vegh and now, Tito Ortiz.
Ortiz joins Bellator as a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
and throughout his career has been one of the most recognizable
and polarizing figures during his sixteen year career, fighting
the likes of Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, Rashad
Evans and Ken Shamrock. A true MMA icon, Ortiz will now start a
new chapter of his career fighting under the Bellator banner
beginning on November 2nd.
More information regarding Bellator’s first PPV will be made
available in the coming weeks. A press conference with Rampage
and Ortiz will take place on Monday, August 5th. Information
regarding the press conference will be available shortly.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on
Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn
Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed
Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes
worldwide in over 115 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is
entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can
be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150
world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of
the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO,
Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and
entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and
integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core
philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This
belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based
format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel
that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the
subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that
utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator MMA is comprised
of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in
television production, live event orchestration, fighter
development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship
creation/development, international licensing, marketing,
advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is
based in Newport Beach, California.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of
Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB),
Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of
programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s
Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and
archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s
press site at
HTML http://www.spike.com/press.
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