UFC Tito Ortiz a huge -550 favorite, threatens to take head off of President

July 8 is the day that UFC's (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Tito Ortiz squares off against Ken Shamrock in Las Vegas.  BetonSports.com (See Web Site Here) is offering this one at Tito Ortiz -550, which means you can get Ken Shamrock at tremendous value.

Shamrock competed in the first Ultimate Fighting Championship show in November of 1993 where he progressed to the semi-finals, losing to eventual tournament winner Royce Gracie. Afterwards, Shamrock vowed to avenge his loss to Gracie. However, it would be nearly a year and a half later before he would get his chance. At UFC 5 in May of 1995, Shamrock and Gracie squared off in the UFC's first ever "Superfight." Unfortunately, the match did not live up to expectations. At UFC 5 the UFC had instituted time limits and Shamrock and Gracie fought for the entire allotted time of 30 minutes along with 5 minutes of overtime before the match was declared a draw. Shamrock went on to defeat Dan Severn for the newly created Superfight belt, successfully defendeding this title against Oleg Taktarov and Kimo Leopoldo. In 1996 he lost the belt via judges decision in a rematch against Severn. As of 2006, Ken is still making occasional appearances in the UFC.

Shamrock also founded the Lion's Den, a group dedicated to the training of mixed martial arts fighters. Many Lion's Den fighters such as Pete Williams, Jerry Bolander, and Tra Telligman have achieved a modicum of success in mixed martial arts.

Shamrock's Lion's Den has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. Ortiz defeated Lion's Den fighters Jerry Bolander and Guy Mezger, eventually facing Shamrock in one of the highest selling mixed martial arts Pay Per View events of all time in the United States. At UFC 40, Ortiz defeated Shamrock when Shamrock's corner threw in the towel.

Shamrock would pay out close to $420 on a $100 bet at BetonSports.com (See Web Site Here) should he somehow manage to win.

But BoS management doesn't see this happening.

"UFC 61 will put on display the most heated rivalry in the sport today, as UFC’s flamboyant pretty boy Tito Ortiz squares off against Ken Shamrock also known as “The Worlds most dangerous man”" commented Fred Saint John of BetonSports.com.  "When referring to the relationship between these two, the word "hate" seems to fall short in describing the animosity and disdain they feel for each other. Picture a WWWF feud that’s real, and only then you might come close to understanding the type of hate that will be involved in this match."

From its original inception UFC has captured the imagination of sports fans everywhere. Contact sports enthusiast disenchanted with the monotonous and shady state boxing currently finds itself in discovered a new niche. Thus UFC has managed to make the move from being an underground sport, it has flourished into the limelight where the current stars have become larger than life and command salaries to prove it.

Companies like BetonSports.com have been able to capitalize off of it. 

Meanwhile, Tito Ortiz isn't just angry with Shamrock, he has also reportedly threatened UFC President, Dana White.

White who use to manage Ortiz had a falling out with the fighter last year over a contract dispute. Ortiz left the UFC in 2005, but returns back to the UFC in the match with Ken Shamrock.

Quoted in slam.ca, Ortiz had this to say about White: "I'm gonna try to take his head off."

Ortiz further elaborated: "We have a little agreement in the contract that we're going to spar boxing for three-three minute rounds. Me and Dana were best of friends before this company took off. He was my manager and he was a good friend of mine. It's someone who I love but at the same time I hate him and I think that after we punch each other in the face a few times we might be able to fix that bridge between us and let bygones be bygones."

Bet on Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock and all other UFC matches here

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Alejandro Botticelli, www.sports911.com

Originally published June 27, 2006 7:34 pm EDT