Jackson vs. Ortiz

This is the official discussion thread for Jackson vs. Ortiz. Let's see what you've got.

Whoever loses needs to disappear

I'm still laughing at the fact that this is headlining a PPV

5 or 6 yrs ago this fight wouldve been awesome!!!

2006 is the year this fight had any interest. 

this is gonna be sooo wrong

I can't believe people actually care about this fight. Bjorn is going to be buying 8 of the 12 ppvs that sell that night.

This is the example of a great main event.

In one corner you have the ever so dominant Tito Ortiz who has went an insane 2-7-1 in his last 10.

In the other, you have Rampage Jackson who has went 5-5 in his last 10.

Great job Bellator. This is the fight to focus your card around. **** Alvarez/Chandler 2. **** Curran/Straus 2. THIS is the fight people wanna see.

* Edited at 09.01.2013, 11:57 AM ET *

I like Bellator alot. But they are going towards looking like WWE

@MikeLovesTaco's you fail to see the point of Tito Ortiz vs Rampage my friend. They've put so many young, talented, credentialed guys on free TV who could go onto do big things in the UFC. The quality of fighters isn't the problem for Bellator it's on par with Strikeforce in it's peak or even WeC the problem is they're having a very hard time getting their product out there. This is their attempt to showcase some of their best fighters in very competitive matchups...Rampage vs Tito is just there to attract the mainstream fans, the PPV is making big noise in the media too. Again, I see Tito vs Page as a pawn on the Bellator chess board. 

On that note, I think Rampage pummels Tito for the better side of two rounds and in the third both guys will be somewhat gassed and it'll be a sloppy back an forth battle. Rampage by decision, unless he works the body which I've never seen him do then he could get a TKO Tito has a weak gut. Rampage is bigger, stronger and will keep Tito tentative with his hands, I can't see Tito scoring a takedown until late.

* Edited at 09.01.2013, 7:35 PM ET *

That's not the point. When you're the 2nd best (starting to even go down from there) MMA promotion in the world, you need to prove to US; the MMA fans, why we need to watch your show. You have 2 of the best MMA fighters NOT under the ZUFFA banner in Michael Chandler and Pat Curran, along with 1 of the biggest names NOT under the ZUFFA banner in Eddie Alvarez. Focus on them. Show us the talent that you have brought up. IF they weren't fighting on this card, fine, have a fight between 2 washed up UFC leftovers.. but don't put your real talent on a card below that fight. That is a slap in the face to the fans and the talent.

Neither guy has been good for years. This fight is 6 years too late. This fight is barely good enough to put in the UFC as a PPV card opener, let alone a headliner to your first ever PPV. It's a joke.

* Edited at 09.01.2013, 8:00 PM ET *

@MikeLovesTacos I get your disdain for it, I really do. I am not looking forward to Tito vs Rampage, but I am very much so looking forward to their pay per view as am I looking forward to see how all of this attention and controversy will affect their ratings in the previous months, along with how the pay per view will help build the fanbases for guys like Newton, Mo, Chandler, Alvarez, Curran.

Honestly, Bellator has a lot of top 10 Caliber guys in their roster in my opinion, along with some of the most promising guys in entire divisions. Their depth and talent is pretty amazing for an organization outside the UFC which is why it's so unfortunate they fail to show that in their ratings. Their brand needs to grow, it needs more eyes on it. That's why they're doing this TNA thing because putting Chandler an Curran on free TV hasn't been enough as of now, that's why Tito vs Rampage is headlining the pay per view, so that Curran and Chandler CAN get the exposure they deserve, so that Bellator can be talked about throughout the media, that's what this pay per view is. They aren't hoping for 500,000 views or anything like that they just want it to grow their brand, to catch more eyes, establish a bigger fanbase so the that the mainstream fans actually TALK about their tournaments. 

Whether or not you agree with this is one thing, but understand why they are doing it. A PPV may be a little rushed, the main event may be a cheap ploy, it may also have to do with keep Alvarez a little longer. Still they tried it your way, it wasn't enough so now they are taking a different angle. 

@MikeLovesTacos, in principle you're right ... but this is their first PPV, they want to sell as much as they can and reach out to more than the hardcore MMA fan ... and if you're just a dude who buys big PPVs every now and then you probably know who Rampage and Tito are.

Not that I care about this fight too much, but I can totally understand why it's the main event if you're already going through with it. 

Don't forget that those casual fans don't really know how washed up Tito and Rampage are either. The hardcore fans will already buy for Chandler/Alvarez and Curran/Strauss.

This isn't about relevance, this is about trying to get some of that money they threw at Tito and 'Page back and starting off big with their PPV debut. So you get the actual MMA fans with the real fights and pad the numbers with a few more that know "that dude from the A-team" and "Jenna Jameson's hubbie" ;)

If you think about it, everyone who cares about Chandler/Alvarez and Curran/Strauss already knows they're fighting on the card and have decided whether to buy the PPV or not, now you put 2 known faces on the poster and you get the extra buys.

* Edited at 09.02.2013, 2:42 AM ET *

I personally am very excited for this PPV, its a solid show, and I'm gonna get it...Tito vs. Rampage is a good enough main event for me along with a fantastic undercard. I'm also assuming its gonna be cheaper than a UFC ppv, which sells me on it even more.

The sad fact is that we all watched Alvarez/Chandler for free, so making the rematch a main event PPV fight is an even bigger slap to the face for us fans @Tacos. I get what your saying, but at the same time, Rampage/Tito makes the most sense for Bellators debuting PPV. You got a monster feud, fueled by trash talk and years in the making...its big, not to mention you got TNA in the mix. I'm sure Bellator is planning on Pro Wrestling fans to tune in because3 of the feud Tito/Rampage have on their shows. This could either be a huge bomb, or its gonna be a ******* awesome show top to bottom. IMO

The real losers in this fight are the fans, the rest of the BMMA roster, and Bellator itself. Whats in gonna be them competing to see who is the bigger crybaby or who got done dirtier by the UFC. I would have paid for Alvarez vs Chandler. It is a big **** you to the rest of the roster when they bring in two guys the UFC had no more interest and have them headline their first PPV! What happened to all that making stars and earning your spot talk? Rebney basically just said "Hey none of you guys are good enough to headline a PPV so lets get two guys who are past their prime and are basically irelevant now to headline our first PPV. Are they going to fighting for the first ever crybaby Title belt?

Hmm, who should I pick? The guy who would probably still be a top 10 UFC fighter if he actually took his career seriously, or the guy who should have retired 6 years ago? Decisions decisions.

The under 2.5 rounds is +150 right now for you bettors. I don't think it will stay that way for long as we approach the fight.

I have Jackson finishing for now, but the more I think about this fight, the more I think it will go the distance.

i don't like his chances but  i can't go against the first guy i was a big fan of in MMA . WAR TITO !

I can see Jackson finishing. A couple shots to the gut and Tito seems to fold up pretty quick. Both Lil Nog and Rashad were able to finish Tito with some good body shots.

Problem is, Rampage doesn't really rip to the body like he should. He'll throw it when it's convenient, but he's never been a consistent body puncher.