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UFC 121: Tito Ortiz vs Matt Hamill booked for Oct. 23 in Anaheim

It's teacher versus student at UFC 121 as former light heavyweight champion and Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 Coach Tito Ortiz takes on one-time pupil Matt Hamill on Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, according to a report from MMAfighting.com.

Ortiz (15-7-1) has continued to struggle inside the Octagon, failing to notch a win since abusing a geriatric Ken Shamrock at UFC "The Final Chapter" back in October 2006.

He most recently coughed up a split decision loss to Forrest Griffin in the UFC 106 main event from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas this past November.

Following the fight -- his first since returning from major back surgery -- the former 205-pound kingpin complained of a "cracked skull" and other maladies, including an empty gas tank. While the medical layoff was behind some of his rust, it's been evident for some time that Ortiz is no longer the dominant force he was in the early 2000's.

That, coupled with another neck surgery that booted him from his TUF 10 duties and subsequent trilogy with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115, and it's hard to imagine just how much "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has to offer at this stage of his career.

Hamill (9-2) has quietly strung together four straight wins since a technical knockout loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 88: "Breakthrough" in September 2008.

Of course no one is celebrating his DQ win over Jon Jones after "Bones" dropped a few 12-6 "hammers" on the former wrestler's mug at the TUF 10 Finale last December, but the "W" stands regardless of the beating he took.

His most recent effort was a majority decision win over Keith Jardine at the TUF 11 Finale that ultimately resulted in the "Dean of Mean" getting his UFC pink slip.

Can he do likewise against Ortiz?

Headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez, UFC 121 will also feature the Octagon debut of Jake Shields when he takes on Martin Kampmann.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this still-developing fight card.

(FanPost edited and promoted by MMAmania.com)

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