In his last five bouts, Ortiz's record stands at 0-4-1. His celebrated position as one of the pioneers of modern day MMA is likely the reasoning behind UFC President Dana White's decision to keep dishing out extra chances.
While Ortiz's star status has taken him beyond normal UFC boundaries, a loss to Bader should finally earn him his walking papers—but do fans even care anymore?
The drama-fueled Ortiz saga has apparently worn out its welcome with the MMA community. When it comes to pre-fight hype, Ortiz has always been one of the best salesmen in the game, but in nearly five years, the former light heavyweight champion hasn't delivered on the other end.
Coming into fights fans hear about a completely healthy Ortiz back in top form. When the other guy's hand gets raised in the end, fans suddenly learn of a laundry list of injuries Ortiz hadn't disclosed before the bout.
On Saturday night, there will be three categories of fans watching. Some people actually anticipate Ortiz's dismissal from the UFC. Others still cling to hope that Ortiz will regain his swagger and rebound from his deep deficit. The rest of the MMA world, which may represent the majority, simply doesn't care anymore.
Throughout his MMA tenure, Ortiz has lived by the "love me or hate me" motto. His bad boy image has led to a prosperous career, but it has also facilitated in hordes of criticism regarding recent performances.
A multitude of fans have even become blinded by hate. People are now questioning Ortiz's career as a whole and his quality of competition.
Ortiz is a future Hall of Famer, and he'll go down as one of MMA's all-time greats. As UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz's title reign lasted from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003.
People can question the level of competition, but all of that was beyond Ortiz's control. For over three years, he was the best 205-pound fighter in the world.
Even now, people demonize Ortiz as if he's a younger Ken Shamrock with no direction or place in the sport. On paper, Ortiz's most recent performances look atrocious, but a closer look at his opposition should put things in perspective.
In his bout with Matt Hamill, Ortiz faced a world class light heavyweight on the brink of breaking into the top 10 rankings. The other names on the list are Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. Every single one of those guys are former UFC champions.
Ortiz fought valiantly against Machida, Griffin and especially Evans, who was saved on a point deduction off a fence grab.
It's obvious that Ortiz has declined over the years, but he is far from being the washed up fighter some would have you believe.
Will he ever rebound?
It's going to be tough for Ortiz to stay afloat in the UFC's unbelievably deep light heavyweight division. If he can't get past Bader, Strikeforce is the obvious option for Ortiz if he wishes to continue his MMA endeavors.
With that said, longtime fans and pundits of the sport are definitely aware of its unpredictable nature. Ortiz's back is against the wall, and there won't be any second chances after this fight. The world will either witness a rebirth or the fall of another legend.
Only one thing certain.
All eyes will be on Tito Ortiz at UFC 132.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/752552-ufc-132-fight-card-all-eyes-on-tito-ortiz
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