Analyzing Tito Ortiz' Return to the UFC

With the last of the week's Great Post-Affliction Press Conferences now done, we get a chance to catch our breath and analyze what the changed talent-distribution landscape means for the UFC.

While the big one got away from the UFC yet again, as after the PRIDE purchase, they did pick up a handful of talent from the disbanded Affliction.

One of the week's biggest acquisitions  for the UFC - which was not directly related to the Affliction meltdown - was the fighter that left the organization 17 months ago amidst turmoil and bad blood (put mildly) - Tito Ortiz.

More after the jump.

The re-integration of Tito carries with it a few implications for the sport, among which:

The UFC 205 title picture gets more interesting.  Tito is a polarizing figure - by design - but his talent is difficult to argue.  One of the most dominant of the early UFC champions, his 1-1-1 record against Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Forrest Griffin (all of whom were shortly about to become UFC champions) holds up very well against the other respective opponents of those 3 great fighters; all the more so when you realize Tito really "won" the Evans fight minus a late cage grab and had Machida in an extremely dangerous triangle that would have tapped most.

The UFC is apparently thinking of pitting Ortiz against the risen Mark Coleman in his return; but if Tito can perform to ability in his next couple fights, he will enter the title picture and make some interesting matches against Franklin, Shogun, and the aforementioned three champions, in what is already a shark tank of a weight class.

The UFC picks up a golden PPV goose.  Again, Tito is polarizing - it's his nature that not everyone likes him - but it's clear that he is an asset when selling PPV's.  His name is as recognizable to the casual fan as anyone else's, and good arguments can be made that in the pre-Brock Lesnar era, only Chuck Liddell was as big of a PPV draw.  In an era where the UFC has produced a few shows exceeding the 1,000,000 PPV buys of Tito-Chuck II even among a very sour economy, adding the Tito Ortiz factor to 2-3 events a year is going to do wonders for sales.

The UFC deprives a competitor of a great asset.  One advantage the UFC derives is that for their competition (e.g. Strikeforce, DREAM, World Victory Road), Tito becomes The One That Got Away; and the fact that the above two advantages will not accrue to competitors is itself a big win in this turn of events for the UFC.  Strikeforce has a lot of charisma and media pull with Carano, Shamrock, and Diaz; the Tito Ortiz puzzle piece would have been a huge asset for them.  Denying them this is a major coup.

Tito will finally - deservingly - join Liddell and others in the UFC Hall of Fame.  Regardless whether you like the guy or not, you can't make a good argument from accomplishments that Tito Ortiz doesn't belong in the UFC HoF. He did as much as anyone to keep the UFC alive during the Dark Days, he is one of the most dominant champs the organization has had, and in the UFC's breakout years only Chuck Liddell may lay claim to broader mainstream appeal.  With the Dana-Tito reconciliation, Tito is a lock for next inductee to the Hall.

The decision by White and Ortiz to bury the proverbial hatchet and move past their differences is the best decision for both men and is likely to result in greater success for both than would have been achieved had this repatriation not occurred.