Report: CSAC on verge of licensing Liddell, Ortiz for trilogy bout

One major hurdle is close to being cleared for chapter three of the Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz rivalry.

Twelve years removed from their rematch, longtime UFC rivals, former light heavyweight champion, and hall-of-famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz are close to locking horns again for a third time, only this one would be under Oscar De La Hoya’s new Golden Boy MMA promotion.

Both men are coming out of retirement for this one, although Ortiz fought as recently as January 2017, as opposed to June 2010 for “The Iceman.” According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, it looks as if they’re on their way to getting their respective licenses to compete.

Liddell (21-8) is in search of his third win in as many fights against Ortiz, and his first victory of any sort since his thriller vs. Wanderlei Silva back in December 2007. Ortiz (19-12-1) competed most recently under the Bellator banner, submitting Chael Sonnen by rear-naked choke for his first finish since 2011.

Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya has already applied for an MMA event at The Forum in Inglewood, California. While not official, Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 is expected to be on pay-per-view on November 24th. The undercard will be exclusively MMA fighters, so there’s no crossovers to be had here.

In the meantime, here’s Tito Ortiz explaining his training schedule.