UFC President Responds To Reports Of Ortiz Being Replaced

TSN.CA STAFF 3/13/2010 7:44:45 PM

After reports surfaced early Saturday that Tito Ortiz would be unable to face Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 in Vancouver and that Rich Franklin would be taking his place, UFC president Dana White responded via Twitter.




"Not true! We are doing [Randy] Couture vs. [Rich] Franklin, not Chuck," said White on Twitter.



"Nothing happened to Tito. Tito and I are cool," he added.



While White's comments make it appear as though Couture and Franklin will do battle this summer, the story continues to evolve. It remains to be seen if the rumoured bout between Ortiz and Liddell will take place at UFC 115, or at all.



Liddell and Ortiz were expected to face each other after their run as head coaches on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter came to an end. However, various reports have suggested that Franklin took over for Ortiz part way through filming TUF, after Ortiz was forced to leave the show for undisclosed reasons.



While a potential matchup between Couture and Franklin had been discussed over the last month, many reports claim that there are still setbacks that could prevent the bout from happening.



Franklin, 35, is 27-5 and one no contest in his mixed martial arts life, with his losses coming to top fighters like Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson and most recently Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 last September.



Couture is 2-0 since he dropped back down to the light heavyweight division, after losing the heavyweight crown to current champion Brock Lesnar. It now seems like he will continue to pursue a shot at the light heavyweight title.



Liddell, 40, has posted a 21-7 record during his Hall of Fame career. After losing four of his last five fights it was widely believed that The Iceman would retire, but he got back in the gym and will once again step into the octagon this summer.



As for the UFC 115 fight card, there have been no official announcements, but recently signed Canadian Claude Patrick is being lined up for the June 12 card, as is Kelowna, B.C. native Rory MacDonald (10-0) who will likely put his undefeated record on the line against former WEC champion Carlos Condit.



There are also reports that Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann will square off, as well as a lightweight collision between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig which has been agreed to by both fighters for the Vancouver event.



In addition, Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama is rumoured to potentially face Wanderlei Silva, while a pair of heavyweight bouts could see Ben Rothwell take on Gilbert Yvel, and Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic battle Pat Barry.