Tito Ortiz will be welcomed back to the UFC by his old friend, Forrest Griffin, who will take the injured Mark Coleman's place at UFC 106 on the "Lesnar Vs. Carwin" card. It was back at UFC 59 that we first saw the young, inexperienced, and potentially protected Forrest Griffin shed his Ultimate Fighter blanket and take a huge leap in competition by facing the formerly dominant light-heavyweight champion Ortiz.  Although many predicted a crippling defeat, certain doom, and even death for Forrest, the rising star showed the first signs of his tenacious resilience and ability to compete with the elite by giving Ortiz all he could handle in a closely measured split-decision. The fight began in typical Ortiz fashion with a quick takedown and brutal elbows from inside Forrest's guard for most of the first round.  Forrest not only survived the onslaught, but mounted a spirited striking attack in the remaining rounds that visibly frustrated Ortiz by reducing him to telegraphed takedowns from too far outside and begrudgingly engage in a stand-up fight.  Even as an Ortiz fan, I clearly remember pining for the logic of a draw to be considered as a sensible outcome of the contest. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy", who has taken a year and a half hiatus from the UFC in a highly publicized fued with Dana White, will be returning in allegedly improved condition after a spinal-fusion surgery to address years of nagging pain that he often cited as effectual cause for performance issues.  He will also be making his grand re-entrance against a fighter that has vaulted into top light-heavyweight status after upsetting Shogun Rua and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to attain the LHW belt in Tito's absence, and despite two extremely discouraging losses to Rashad Evans and Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin will represent a more confident and mature threat, and an entirely different fighter than he first faced. Tito Ortiz was Forrest Griffin's first pivotal fight of his career, and now over three years later, both fighters have a lot at stake and will risk a plummet in popularity with a loss at this stage of their careers.

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