Ortiz & Evans: War Of Words

The verbal fight between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans has been heating up as of late. The first verbal shot thrown was by Tito Ortiz, when he decided to imitate Don Imus' words by saying he was going to make Rashad his "nappy-headed ho." This was after both fighters had a heated exchange of words in the crowd at UFC 69 in which Tito pushed Rashad and security had to break them up. In response to that, UFC.com has an interview up with Rashad Evans conducted by a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico (104.7 The Edge) in which he states that Tito Ortiz is "frontin about being Mexican." He also talks about how Tito's tactics only worked on guys that were weaker than him, and that it will have no affect on his performance come UFC 73 on July 7. In regard to the comment made by Tito Ortiz, there is another interview with Tito Ortiz in which he states this about his recent comment:

"What I said was strictly towards Rashad. We get in the octagon and we’re probably one of the most brutal sports alive man. We’re in a very combative sport. I think writing something on the internet is not even close to what were going to do in the octagon. It was a jokingly thing. It made a lot of my friends laugh and a lot of my fans laugh and it was nothing racist at all. The last time I checked I was Mexican and I am the minority. One of my best friends [Quinton] “Rampage” Jackson is African American and the way I look at it - it was a joke. It was a funny joke to me and hopefully Rashad got a little humor out of it himself. "

In the same interview, he talks about having one last fight on his contract and his wish to fight in pride if need be to take on the best. Their bout at UFC 73 will be instrumental to their careers, as it could elevate Rashad Evans to contender status if he were to win and it would hurt Tito Ortiz's career if he were to lose.