Former UFC light heavyweight champion
Tito Ortiz (Pictures) has agreed to face undefeated
Lyoto Machida (Pictures) on the UFC's May 24 card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Talk of a potential Ortiz-Machida bout began earlier this month. Ortiz (15-5-1) confirmed Monday on Fight Network Radio that he would fulfill his current contract with Zuffa against the 29-year-old Brazilian.
"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy," who turns 33 on Wednesday, competed only once in 2007, fighting to a hotly disputed draw with TUF 2 victor
Rashad Evans (Pictures). The former 205-pound champion has more recently been seen as part of the cast of Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC.
The once-enigmatic Machida went from curiosity to contender in 2007, winning each of his four fights. Machida (12-0) punctuated his '07 campaign with a domination of
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) in the Octagon in December.
The Ortiz-Machida fight will likely serve as the co-feature for the May 24 UFC card, alongside the lightweight title bout between current lightweight champion
B.J. Penn (Pictures) and former champion
Sean Sherk (Pictures).
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