"Tito Ortiz is good for business. He is one of the most polarizing mixed martial artists on the planet, but the bottom line is he is good for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's bottom line. No fighter this side of Chuck Liddell draws a crowd like 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,' and the UFC knows it. UFC boss Dana White takes shots at Ortiz at will, with the latest salvo coming earlier this month at UFC 72. White called him out for declining a rematch on the show with Forrest Griffin. But even White can't dispute that the brash Ortiz is one of the fighters who paved the way for the UFC to be where it is today. Ortiz has been part of five of the top 20 highest grossing mixed martial arts gates in Las Vegas. With Ortiz in the main event of each of those shows, the UFC grossed $11 million, including $5.4 million alone from December's Liddell-Ortiz 2, which set the North American record for a mixed martial arts gate. That fight also drew the most pay-per-view buys in the sport's history with nearly 1.1 million, good for another $43 million for the UFC coffers.... Despite not one but two title fights on the July 7 'Stacked' card from Sacramento, the UFC is leading with Ortiz in a non-title fight in its promotion of the event."
-- Steve Seivert makes a solid point over at the Houston Chronicle in regard to Tito Ortiz. He often catches a ton of flak for the way in which he carries himself, but at the end of the day, he puts butts in seats and interests fans one way or another -- the numbers don't lie.
