forrest griffin vs. tito ortiz III set for ufc 148

Tito Ortiz (16-10-1 MMA, 15-10-1 UFC) is set for the final fight of his career.

The former UFC light-heavyweight champion on Monday confirmed via Twitter that he's scheduled to fight Forrest Griffin (18-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) at UFC 148, which takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight serves as a rubber match for the fighters after they split wins in two previous bouts.

For Ortiz, though, it also serves as a retirement bout.

"I just turned 37 years old," he said this past month. "I've been in the game for 15 years and competing only with the UFC. I know it's time for me to kind of hang 'em up."

UFC 148's main card airs on pay-per-view with prelims on FX. Ortiz vs. Griffin is likely to make the main-card broadcast.

Ortiz beat Griffin by split decision when they first met at UFC 59 in 2006. Then Griffin avenged the loss with a split-decision victory over "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" a few years later at UFC 106. In the past year, the two have taken shots at each other over Twitter, and Ortiz in particular has pushed the idea of a third bout.

"We have a history," Ortiz said. "I won the first won, they gave Forrest the second one, and fans want to see the third one. Me and Forrest had our bickering words back and forth on Twitter, of course. I think Forrest deserves it, man. I really like Forrest. I think he's a tough guy. We'd put on a great match.

"Fans love big fights, and we both put them on again and again."

After a brief resurgence this past July, Ortiz's career is on the downslope. He went winless for five years before an unexpected submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132 pulled him out of his tailspin. But in his next fight, the slide continued with a loss to former champ Rashad Evans – whom he'd fought to a draw at UFC 73 – and, most recently, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stopped him in the first round at UFC 140.

A win over Griffin would certainly send the six-time world champ out on a high note.

Meanwhile, Griffin needs some fortune of his own. The one-time champ was blown out of the water by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in his most recent fight at UFC 134, which snapped a two-fight win streak (over Rich Franklin and Ortiz). The winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 1" has fought less and less frequently as the result of injury.

 

very winnable fight for forrest, i think he can get it done.