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Scott Coker Says He Was “Boxed Into” Giving Tito Ortiz a Title Shot

August 28, 2015 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Scott Coker spoke with MMAjunkie about Tito Ortiz’s fight against light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 142. Check out the highlights:

On Ortiz getting the shot: “Tito had some other choices to fight other people. I was like, ‘Tito, do you really want do this?’ He was like, ‘I wanna do it.’ He boxed me into a corner, basically, to get this fight. I was like, ‘OK, be careful what you wish for, because now you have to go climb the big hill.’ But he wants to do it.”

On the original plan for Ortiz: “Originally, I had him ready to fight Frank Shamrock. That was the original fight. And Frank agreed. We went to Tito, and he was like, ‘Nope, I want to fight Liam McGeary or Emanuel Newton for the title.’ Shamrock vs. Ortiz in San Jose would have been just a monster fight. I’m thinking like a promoter here. But he didn’t want to do it, and he just kept bugging me. When Liam fought Emanuel, he just kept tapping me on the shoulder and said, ‘I want to fight the winner of those two.’”

On Ortiz: “He, as a martial artist, as a fighter, this is what he needs to rise to the occasion. The title’s important, but the journey is just as important for him. He wants to rise to the occasion and really test himself.”