MANILA – Mixed martial arts star Tito Ortiz is raring to get another shot at winning the UFC light heavyweight title as he returns to The Octagon in UFC 106.

“I’ve been the longest reigning light heavyweight champion ever. I want that belt again. So now I just gotta do it,” Ortiz said in promotional video posted on UFC.com. He vowed to rebuild himself “one match at a time.”

To boost his chances for a shot at the light heavyweight crown, Ortiz will have to face the opponent he edged three years ago, former UFC champion Forrest Griffin.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” overcame Griffin by split decision in UFC 59: Reality Check in 2006.

They will face off again in UFC 106 "Ortiz vs Griffin 2" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

The 34-year-old Ortiz, who reigned as the UFC light heavyweight champion for 1,267 days, has an MMA record of 16-6-1.

Griffin, 30, was the light heavyweight champion for 177 days. He has 16 wins and 6 losses.

Game plan

Both fighters will be coming off defeats in their last UFC fights: Lyoto Machida beat Ortiz by unanimous decision in 2008’s UFC 84 while Anderson Silva knocked out Griffin in UFC 101 last August.

Although it has been three years since his fight with Ortiz, Griffin said he always knew that a rematch was bound to happen. “Sooner or later, we’d fight again,” he said.

Ortiz, meanwhile, looked back on their bout: “The reason I think he was fighting so hard because he looking for respect. He has my respect. I give him nothing but respect. Now that he has my respect, what else does he has (sic) to draw on?”

He said can't wait to take on Griffin. “I’m gonna push him. I’m gonna press, press, press. I’m gonna try to take his heart,” he declared.

Griffin, for his part, shared his game plan. “I’m gonna fight all three rounds, not just the last two,” referring to his previous performance against Ortiz. “I really like to get on top and just punch him,” he continued. “This is… I’m gonna win this fight.”

Other matches lined up for UFC include Josh “Kos” Koscheck vs Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Amir Sadollah vs Phil “New York Bad Ass” Baroni, Luiz “Banha” Cane vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Karo “The Heat” Parisyan vs Dustin Hazelett.

The other featured matches are Ben “Killa B” Saunders vs Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis, Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove vs Jake Rosholt, Paulo Thiago vs Jacob Volkmann, Brock Larson vs Brian Foster, Caol Uno vs Fabricio Camoes, and George Sotiropoulos vs Jason “Dynamite” Dent.

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