Ortiz Faces Former ‘TUF’ Protégé Hamill at UFC 121

Tito Ortiz has signed on to face one-time “Ultimate Fighter” student Matt Hamill at UFC 121 “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” on Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., Ortiz's first fight back since undergoing neck surgery on March 15.

Ortiz announced his signing and spoke about the impending light heavyweight bout in a video released on his PunishmentFilms.tv Web site on Saturday.

The former 205-pound champ coached Hamill, a deaf wrestler and three-time Div. III national champion, on “The Ultimate Fighter 3” in 2006. Ortiz showed a particular interest in Hamill on the show, though the pair drifted after the seasoned ended.

“Matt, I’m sorry -- business is business, though,” Ortiz said in the video. “I made the mistake with (Chuck) Liddell and now I no longer have him as a friend, so it’s strictly business.”

Ortiz underwent surgery in March for a bulging disc between the C6 and C7 vertebrae at the base of his neck. The 34-year-old father of three said the injury hampered his performance against Forrest Griffin at UFC 106 in November 2009 and got so uncomfortable that Ortiz withdrew from a May bout against Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Ortiz’s decision to pull out of the UFC 115 bout, which would have marked his third matchup against Liddell, led to his dismissal in the final days of taping for “The Ultimate Fighter 11” reality series, where he and Liddell played their roles as rival coaches. Liddell went on to fight another former UFC champion in Rich Franklin and was knocked out in the first round.

Hamill has won eight of 10 bouts since joining the promotion in 2006, with his only two losses coming to ‘TUF’ alum Michael Bisping and former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

The 33-year-old Hamill earned a unanimous decision over Greg Jackson-trained Keith Jardine at “The Ultimate Fighter 11” Finale on June 19 in Las Vegas.