Say it ain't so!
Tito Ortiz, one half of main event for Bellator's pay-per-view (PPV) debut, has been forced from the card due to a neck injury suffered in training. Ortiz was set to fight Quinton Jackson next Saturday (Nov. 2, 2013) at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting was the first with the news
Bellator is currently seeking a replacement for Ortiz, and it is unclear at this time whether Jackson will remain on the Nov. 2 card. There is a chance next weekend's pay-per-view card turns into a Spike show with Jackson being moved to another event.
Ortiz sent out a cryptic tweet earlier Friday (Oct. 25, 2013) with a picture that said "I know everything happens for a reason, but sometimes I wish I knew what that reason was," along with a caption reading "Sometimes I wonder why?"
This is the worst case scenario for Bellator, as the PPV broadcast was the first step into moving from a free television product into the money-making world of PPV. With Ortiz off the card, Bellator loses the main event that was expected to draw in the casual fan.
Brent Brookhouse over at Bloody Elbow has suggested that Bellator move the card onto Spike. However, with the new deal Bellator signed with Eddie Alvarez, that is likely not a possibility if the former Bellator champion is to stay on the card.
Talk about Bjorn Rebney and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
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