Full Credit for the below should go to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Tito Ortiz, after being allowed to talk for the first time due to the non-disclosure agreement surrounding The Ultimate Fighter reality show, revealed he had neck fusion surgery on March 15th, but still expects to face Chuck Liddell by the end of this year.
Ortiz got a big scare in mid-February. After training with his team, he went back to to his place, fell asleep on the couch, and when he got up, he couldn’t walk and was scared to death.
He was told he had bone spurs and a disc pressing on his spine, causing numbness in his arms.
Ortiz said the neck problems started when he was dropped on his head in training for the Forrest Griffin fight in November. He said he had to take time off from training leading up to that fight, but after Brock Lesnar had pulled out of the show, felt pressure not to pull out.
After the fight, due to a fractured orbital bone, the neck problems and a concussion, he didn’t do any training before the season that is currently airing began filming in mid-January, and figured his problems would heal with the time off. He thought at the time his constant painful headaches were due to the orbital bone fracture and the concussion, as opposed to an issue with his neck.
He saw several doctors, including some provided by UFC, over a one-week period because of pain and numbness, before making the decision to have the surgery. Dr. William Smith of Las Vegas, the same doctor who did his lower back fusion surgery, fused his C-6 and C-7 disc, and put in a plate and screws into the neck.
He said he was surprised when Dana White replaced him as coach with five days left in the taping, but understood the decision because part of the show is building up a PPV main event.
Ortiz said he expects to begin light training in about a month, and is targeting October or November for his return to the cage. Ortiz has five fights left on his current contract. He’s targeting Liddell as his first opponent, being hopeful that Liddell doesn’t get knocked out by Rich Franklin in their 6/12 fight.
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