After losing a close split-decision in his rematch to Forrest Griffin in November at UFC 106, Ortiz blamed a series of severe injuries on his uneventful performance. Considering Ortiz spent months hyping his return and claiming to be rejuvenated due to a recent back surgery, fans were outraged at his post-fight comments.

Ortiz' remarks may seem like excuses to some but the reality is that Ortiz probably should have pulled out of his fight with Griffin. If the injuries were as serious as he is claiming then he should have backed out but instead he chose to man-up and fight. An 18-month layoff made "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" very eager to step back into the Octagon and mixed in with the fact that the original main event between heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin was called off due to Lesnar's illness, there was no way that Ortiz was backing out at the last minute.

The former light-heavyweight champion owed it to his loyal fans and to the UFC to step up and put on a show against the original Ultimate Fighter winner. However, Ortiz realizes that it was a mistake to go through with that fight despite his medical condition. Ortiz doesn't plan on making the same mistake again and will have no hesitation pulling out of his third fight with UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell if the injuries are still occurring.

"I know I won't take this fight if I'm not ready for it," Ortiz said in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. "I guarantee that. I'm not going to do that again. I've done a lot of favors for the UFC, and I shouldn't have fought that fight (with Griffin). I shouldn't have, but I did. I'm not going to let my fans down again."

Leading up to his November bout with Griffin, Ortiz claimed he would run through Griffin with the explosiveness of a tiger. He cited his recent back surgery as the best thing that he has ever done for his career. Several MMA enthusiasts expected a quicker, stronger version of Ortiz in his UFC return. The injury reports after the fight came to the surprise and the dismay of fans everywhere but it wasn't his back that was the problem, it was his head.

"I have no more back problems, but other things started coming about," Ortiz said. "The first week of training (for UFC 106), I got bounced on my head. I had C6 and C7 discs pressing on my spinal cord. I shouldn't have fought. But when you take 18 months off and bills have to be paid? I'll suck it up.

In fact, the injury was so severe that Ortiz claimed to have suffered severe memory loss before and after the event.

"Two weeks before the fight, I was wrestling with one of my partners, and we collided heads. I fractured my orbital bone. I don't remember the weigh-ins. I don't remember the fight. All I remember was the beginning of the third round. I remember thinking in my head, 'Don't get taken down, and don't get knocked down, and you win the fight.' That's all I remember. I don't remember the press conference afterward. I don't remember any of it at all. I had a concussion from the fractured orbital bone."

If healthy, Ortiz will square off with Liddell after the two coach opposite each other on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. Liddell's recent performances have been rather...