The UFC light-heavyweight championship fight between title-holder Jon Jones and challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson doesn't take place for another two months, but everyone already wants to know who's on deck for the fighter who emerges with the strap.During a Tuesday press conference in Denver to officially announce the fight headlining UFC 135, UFC president Dana White confirmed that if Rashad Evans beats Tito Ortiz at August 6's UFC 133, he'll be the next man to challenge for gold. That decision seems quite logical. But what happens if Ortiz pulls off his second straight upset?
While White stopped short of saying Ortiz would get a title shot for beating Evans, he also didn't rule it out.
"I don't know," White said. "It's tough one. He beats [Ryan] Bader who was ranked, I think 7 or 8. Then he comes back and beats the guy ranked No. 1? I don't know. It's a tough question. Some would say Tito. Some would say he probably has to beat one other guy. I don't know. We'll figure that out when it happens."
The fact that we're even discussing the remote possibility of Ortiz in another title match would have seemed ludicrous just a few weeks ago, when he was mired in a winless streak that stretched back to October 2006.
But at UFC 132, as a massive underdog, he upset Bader via submission in just 1:56. A win over Evans would be even more surprising. Though the pair fought to a draw back in July 2007, Evans has gone 5-1 since then, including a run as the UFC champion.
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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/07/19/dana-white-doesnt-rule-out-tito-ortiz-as-no-1-contender-with-a/
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