UFC 73: Tito Ortiz to train with Randy Couture in Big Bear

I didn’t think Tito was the Champ going into that fight. Thought he gave it up for not defending it in 43 and tried to get it back in 44 but wasn’t Randy the Champ going into the fight? I really wish Couture wouldn’t train with Tito, it can’t help but improve his game and I can’t stand Ortiz.

didnt some boxer get in trouble a while back for chasing his training partner through big bear woods, with an axe??? I hope Tito doesnt try anything fishy to Randy…no but seriously, this is going to help Tito quite a bit…it also may help Randy prepare for Gonzaga, in training for Sylvia he trained with Sims and Cristison, I think Ortiz and Ricco could prepare him for gonzaga…well, help him more than a lot of other guys i suppose

I didn’t think Tito was the Champ going into that fight. Thought he gave it up for not defending it in 43 and tried to get it back in 44 but wasn’t Randy the Champ going into the fight? I really wish Couture wouldn’t train with Tito, it can’t help but improve his game and I can’t stand Ortiz.

Right, Couture beat Liddell for the interim title. Then, Couture fought Ortiz. I always confuse that because I remember the belt was Ortiz’ but they stripped him because he wouldn’t fight and he kept yapping about him being the true champion. Hence “Undisputed.”

Hey Tommy. Going into that fight Tito Oritz was the Light Heavyweight Champion and Randy Couture was the Interim Light Heavyweight Champion. The match between them was to decide the was the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion; hence the name of UFC 44 being “Undisputed.”

What I don’t understand is that I thought Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture didn’t get along. I remember at the end of the Forrest Griffin/Tito Ortiz fight; Tito said that Couture trainied Griffin for the fight and he said something that made it seems he was upset over that. Also, Ortiz said that he helped train Couture for his fight with Vitor Belfort, which seems to have upset Ortiz even more that Couture trained Griffin. Anyone know how this dispute started or ended?

Not only will randy help him to the next level. hopefully he shows tito how to act and keep that mouth shut and be a class act fighter.

This is good news. I’m glad that Tito has made this move. I know they have trained before but they parted ways and haven’t trained together since. I feel that Tito is realizing how important this win is for his career. I feel confiedent saying Ortiz will beat Rashad at 73. I am predicting a unam. dec. This will be a big boost for the start of a new run for him with all the changes in MMA. I also agree that the Punishment team will retun favor against Gonzaga. Conditioning/Cardio, more wrestling, this will be awesome

To be the best you have to train with the best.. and to say that Randy is the best is an under statment..Randy is the best of the best..Tito and Randy training together will give Tito an added edge going into UFC 73..4 sure!!

I think that Tito Oritz afraids of Evan Rashad. That is why Tito Oritz hired UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture to train with Tito.

It sounds to me like Tito Ortiz is growing up. I always thought that if Tito ever gets over himself he be on top of the division. A smarter wiser Tito could be scary for the LHW division.

how about a smarter wiser chuck means a lot more KOs and if randy and tito want their 3rd KO by Chuck tell them to bring it tito will lose to rashad evens by a leg kick

A smarter and stronger Andy Wang can beat Tito. Tito got a big mouth and also a big head! Go Rashad

I would have more respect for Tito if he dropped the porno business manager and hooks up with Randy Couture (no homo). That is the best way he can elavate his game right now. He needs to stop being all hollywood and be a hardcore fighter. Stop being cheesey.

this is for Red i dont know how the feud ended probably cuz randy is a real man and put behind them to help benefit the both of them but i can tell is started cuz all tito does is run off at the mouth and doesnt back it up i mean he just did it when he made a racial comment about his opponent rashad which i dont think tito will back it up i have rashad winning in 2 maybe 3 but no doubt a KO with a leg kick

Andy Wang ain’t nothing but a cry baby, pussy. They should have just kicked his ass out of TUF. What a little bitch that dude is!!!

Yo Red its ur man who lined #2 wit u on the line at Nordstroms or whoever u spell it.. Good ole randy couture .. Hope all is well kid

As much as of late all the things Tito has done of recently has made me really dislike him especially seeing that Bad Blood and he backed out like a bitch. Didnt even give a good amount of time to man up and say “look this isnt good for me or you, no matter how it goes, I dont want to do this anymore” but there is this part of me that remembers the old Tito and remembers the Tito who helped out so many of those guys on TUF. As a coach he has to get some amount of credit if not the most (well Jens this season is doing pretty damn good too and is a cool dude with a great sense of the world from what Ive seen)

As for this helping, it will really help with both of them. One thing about Tito is his cardio is always top notch and he knows how to push himself to the extremes, being with Couture will finally get some “new” blood into his training routine. I honestly thought Evans might pull off another head kick and hit Tito good and hard, and pull out a decision or KO but with Couture training with Tito it can only mean good things for him. Makes 74 just that much more intresting! I can not wait!

is Kendall Grove a part of team punishment i thought they were just great friends
randy will be a great help to tito’s training also i think this will really help matt hamill learn a few things

good idea tito, not that you don’t know how to get prepared for a fight, but couture is the best and he will only help you…rahshad hasn’t fought anyone like tito and is in trouble come july, especially if tito is getting help from guys like randy, tito will probably win in a unanimous decision…

This is good news. I’m glad that Tito has made this move. I know they have trained before but they parted ways and haven’t trained together since. I feel that Tito is realizing how important this win is for his career. I feel confiedent saying Ortiz will beat Rashad at 73. I am predicting a unam. dec. This will be a big boost for the start of a new run for him with all the changes in MMA. I also agree that the Punishment team will retun favor against Gonzaga. Conditioning/Cardio, more wrestling, this will be awesome

yes i agree, this is a good move for both guys…

“…will PROBABLY be training….”
“…he MIGHT come up to Big Bear…”

Until we hear from Randy himself, there is no story here. Randy has 5 or 6 gyms now, as well as movie and TV appearances to keep him busy. Also, Randy will be training himself for Gonzaga, who is no walk-through. It’s doubtful whether Tito would be of any help to Randy for the Gonzaga fight.

I would be surprised if Randy actually finds his way up to Big Bear for more than a day or two. I WOULDN’T be surprised if Randy never trains with Tito at all.

I think Rashad wins regardless, his striking is leaps and bounds ahead of Tito just ask Sean Salmon, Brad Imes, or Jason Lambert. If Tito wins this fight he will have to beat Rashad to the punch when it comes to shooting for the takedown so he can use dominant top position where he is at his best using his vicious ground and pound, however I think Rashad is just too fast and has enough athletic ability and wrestling skills to win this fight. I think having Coture train him Tito is showing that he knows Rashad is the real deal.

I sure could be wrong though, im no expert so if Tito won it wouldnt surprise me but im putting my money on Sugar Shad’.

Hey JB, I was thinking the exact same thing! From what I read there it sounds like Randy kinda sorta might maybe is training with Ortiz. Nothing too solid.

LIMA BEAN DONT KNOW NOTHIN

randy is in high demand!

why would you say that???

dont be such a girl, you obviously dont know anything about fighting so keep your comments to yourself…

I think Rashad wins regardless, his striking is leaps and bounds ahead of Tito just ask Sean Salmon, Brad Imes, or Jason Lambert.

SEAN SALMON?! BRAD IMES?! JASON LAMBERT?! sounds like a list of who’s who you got goin there.maybe for the w.e.c. or somethin.(though the salmon KO is top 10 all time) i’m not a tito fan, but tito will be rashads toughest challenge yet by far.

Tito will be more than just a challenge. Tito is Icon level next to what Rashad has ever seen. This won’t be a test for Evans? It will be a test for Ortiz? Whether he will be a compettitor in LHW division. Evans though can pull the win has nothing to lose whether he wins or losses. I say Ortiz in Unam Dec.

Tito will make Rashad his nappy headed ho… lol

[/quote]
SEAN SALMON?! BRAD IMES?! JASON LAMBERT?! sounds like a list of who’s who you got goin there.maybe for the w.e.c. or somethin.(though the salmon KO is top 10 all time) i’m not a tito fan, but tito will be rashads toughest challenge yet by far.[/quote]

Lets not forget Rashad also beat Stephan Bonnar whos a game fighter if nothing else, and also Jason Lambert DESTROYED Babalu (Who was and has been a Top 10 fighter for years) which to me makes his dominating win over Lambert that much more impressive.

But i see what your saying, he hasnt done it to anyone of Titos caliber. I guess the point I was trying to make is his striking is better than Titos and well rounded.

Against Imes (At heavyweight I might add, when Imes had 8 inches and 65lbs on him which is damn impressive regardless) he dropped him twice with right crosses and showed good boxing skills

Against Lambert he took him down than just demolished him with ground and pound knocking him out cold and almost breaking his jaw.

and Against Sean Salmon we all saw that beauty of a head kick that almost took Salmons head off and sent him out on a stretcher.

Point being thats a great Variety of KO stoppages, hes done it with his boxing, kickboxing, and ground and pound. So like I said I got my $$ on Suga’ Shad’.

Evans though can pull the win has nothing to lose whether he wins or losses. I say Ortiz in Unam Dec.

Although I disagree with your projected outcome of Tito vs Rah (I say Rah wins by TKO due to strikes), it’s very true that Rah has nothing to lose in this fight. Actually, in most cases, any up & comer ever has much to lose if he is beaten by someone the likes of Tito. Worst case scenario, the loss would be a HUGE learning experience that should propel that up & comer’s fight game to the next level.

Just my thoughts………

I’d also like to add that although Rah has nothing to lose if he takes a loss vs someone of Tito’s caliber, more so, he has an infinate amount to gain by winning.

This can only be good for Tito.If he doesn’t learn anything from Couture then theres a problem.Hopefully Tito learns some respect and manners from Randy as well.Rashad wins by unaniomous dec.

Couture is NOT – I repeat, NOT – training with Tito Ortiz:

http://www.mad-squabbles.com/2007/05/mad-squabbles-exclusive-couture-not.html

And the plot thickens…

I think Fred is right. Logically, I don’t think Randy has a boatload of respect for Ortiz. I’m sure they casually talked about it at least. But Randy is the heavyweight Champ, why waste his time training lower level and lower weight class fighters when he has his own championship fight coming up. I would be suprised. This is the smartest thing Ortiz has done/tried to do though. It could also be mind games. What most Rashad be thinking? “Oh crap, look who he’s got on his side, look who is in his corner, crap”

Has Tito been known for bringing in big names to help him train for big fights in the past?

What the hell is going on here.Is Tito crazy or somthing,man this guy is like alittle child.He’s driving me friggin crazy.

My problem w/ Evans winning is that he cant finish. Oh, o.k. the kick to the head, but that isnt finishing. He gets in the guard and just sits there. He is getting a little better, but not enough to take out Ortiz. He does nothing to improve his position. He did finsih Lambert, but like some have said, Evans’ competition has ben against stiffs.

Intersting fight, same styles, Ortiz by decision or cut.

I’m a massive Tito fan so this is all good news for me. Hopefully with ‘’the natural’’in his corner he will reach that level.

Tito by descision.

You can’t compare the comp between the two. I’m sorry. Bonnar sells tickets but come on. Who has he beaten of note? And that’s Rashad’s big name victory? If I am not mistaken, Lambert was a late replacement (late as in a few weeks). A better test for Rashad would be a rematch with the Punisher who is flying high with his win over Babs. (If you haven’t figured it out already, I think Lambert is the definate future of the LHW. The guy is serious. Mark my words.)

Rashad is entering a whole new level of competitor in Tito. Seriously, you guys can punk on him all you want but the bottom line is he was the champ once. In all honesty, I hate Tito myself; talks to much.

Sean Salmon; all I think about with him is the ridiculous Karate Kid crane kick he tried against Rashad. It’s actually to Rashad’s shame that he couldn’t finish in round 1.

I cant read through 40 comments. If Tito wants to pay Randy some of that pornstar money to train him, God Bless Randy. It wont matter. Tito is untrainable. Does anyone take this guy serious anymore. His future will be determined when he fights Rah.

My problem w/ Evans winning is that he cant finish. Oh, o.k. the kick to the head, but that isnt finishing. He gets in the guard and just sits there. He is getting a little better, but not enough to take out Ortiz. He does nothing to improve his position. He did finsih Lambert,

Seriously, are you people MMA fans or do you just play favorites? It feels like people want to argue for the sake of it. Talk about Tito being untrainable, half the posters on this site simply refuse to be educated no matter how much knowledge they clearly lack. It’s like reading the fore-word of a book & trying to intelligently discuss the content. You’ll always fall short.

Yo LongIslandGuy! How’s it going man!? I hope all is well with you, too man. How cool was last Saturday? I am pretty sure we’ll run into each other some time in the near future. Later buddy.

Seriously, are you people MMA fans or do you just play favorites? It feels like people want to argue for the sake of it. Talk about Tito being untrainable, half the posters on this site simply refuse to be educated no matter how much knowledge they clearly lack. It’s like reading the fore-word of a book & trying to intelligently discuss the content. You’ll always fall short.

I think I agree with you MACHINE, Im just a lil unclear on your point but reading into it Im on board with you 150%. I do think it is ignorant to just say Rashad cant win b/c hes fighting a big name in tito. Anyone who has watched Rashad fight has seen he has gotten better and better in each fight he has had. Isnt that all you can ask for is constant progress and growth?? Plus if you watched Rashad you’d know that hes a better striker than tito, hes faster than tito, and he has just as good wrestling skills. I give tito the advantage in technique, experience, and strength (only by a slim slim margin with strength b/c Rashad is a jacked 215 which was evident when he dominated Lambert).

Plus To say SHad’ doesnt do anything on the top is way off, he pounded out Lambert and knocked him out cold and dominated Bonnar both from the top while ground and pounding.

girl huh…
EVERYONE would love to train with randy! Do you hear what fighters say about him mayn? ;(

Machine, you really think someone can come in and tell Tito “I lose when I face big competition” Ortiz what to do? Why does he own his own gym then? He’s a great coach. The show and the success of the fighters under him prove that. But he himself? No way.

I think I agree with you MACHINE, Im just a lil unclear on your point but reading into it Im on board with you 150%. I do think it is ignorant to just say Rashad cant win b/c hes fighting a big name in tito. Anyone who has watched Rashad fight has seen he has gotten better and better in each fight he has had. Isnt that all you can ask for is constant progress and growth?? Plus if you watched Rashad you’d know that hes a better striker than tito, hes faster than tito, and he has just as good wrestling skills. I give tito the advantage in technique, experience, and strength (only by a slim slim margin with strength b/c Rashad is a jacked 215 which was evident when he dominated Lambert).
Plus To say SHad’ doesnt do anything on the top is way off, he pounded out Lambert and knocked him out cold and dominated Bonnar both from the top while ground and pounding

Sorry my point was’nt clear Druby but the guy actually said that Rah can’t finish fights & then went on to prove his own statements incorrect. I snapped man.

We should debate, make points & counter-points because there’s always someting to learn no matter how slight but let’s atleast be realistic.

Sorry my point was’nt clear Druby but the guy actually said that Rah can’t finish fights & then went on to prove his own statements incorrect. I snapped man.

We should debate, make points & counter-points because there’s always someting to learn no matter how slight but let’s atleast be realistic.

Amen Brother good post

BJ Penn will win this one in the first three minutes.

Randy and Tito training together. That will help Tito alot. What does Randy get from it?

My problem w/ Evans winning is that he cant finish. Oh, o.k. the kick to the head, but that isnt finishing. He gets in the guard and just sits there. He is getting a little better, but not enough to take out Ortiz. He does nothing to improve his position. He did finsih Lambert, but like some have said, Evans’ competition has ben against stiffs.

Intersting fight, same styles, Ortiz by decision or cut.

He does have 3 (T)KO’s and 2 submissions (one being from strikes) against 5 decisions. albeit not against top tier competition as i have already commented on, half his fights he ended early. thats not bad.

10-0 to make it clear, my previous statement reads a little confusing

Tito will lose to Rashad no matter who he trains with, Couture is a champion but tito is past his day, he will never be anything like couture.

This is good publicity for Ortiz. Training with a world class athlete, such as Couture, could show that he is maturing and getting serious about his training. Though, not sure if it is trying to make him more of a baby face and appeal more to the fans (then again, this is Tito) but either way it is a good look for Ortiz. Not falling for it, but I’m saying in the perspective of the general fan.

By the way, has anyone seen the video of Kevin James training with Couture? James vs Ortiz. Let’s do this!

BJ Penn will win this one in the first three minutes.

What you talking about man.

Randy Couture will not be joining Tito to help him train for his upcoming fight against Rashad Evans. Official word from Couture’s team is that Randy was asked to help train but declined because he “wouldn’t help someone train against Rashad.” “Randy Couture is not going to Big Bear to train with Tito Ortiz.”

if Randy did go, it wouldn’t be the 1st time he helped Tito train or vise versa. I also know Randy has helped Rashad train before which is why I believe you Morocco. If Tito and Randy never ever fought and the situation wasn’t what it was years ago,I could see these guys being good friends and training partners(much needed) I don’t think either of these 2 have enough experienced teammates. Randy did with Team Quest and Tito did with Chuck. Can’t wait to see what happends.