Tito Ortiz out with neck fracture, Bellator 106 moves from PPV to Spike TV

Tito Ortiz has a fractured neck and is officially out of next week’s Bellator MMA pay-per-view debut. And his injury has turned that pay-per-view debut into a regular card on Spike TV, albeit one with a trio of title fights.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney on Friday made the announcement on a conference call with media members.

Bellator 106 will still take place Nov. 2, a Saturday, at Long Beach Arena in California. But instead of airing it on pay-per-view, the card will air on Spike TV with a four-fight main card over three hours with three title fights that were serving as the undercard to Ortiz (16-11-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. Quinton Jackson (32-11 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), which had been the headliner.

The new main event will be a lightweight title fight rematch between Michael Chandler (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) and former champ Eddie Alvarez Alvarez (24-3 MMA, 9-1 BMMA). The card also will feature a featherweight title fight between champ Pat Curran (19-4 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) and Daniel Straus (21-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), also a rematch, and an interim light heavyweight title fight between Muhammed Lawal and Emanuel Newton – yet another second meeting.

“I’ve said it since the day we announced the fight that ‘Rampage’ vs. Tito was a fight I had wanted to see for years, and it’s unfortunately something I’m going to have to continue to wait to see,” Rebney stated in Bellator’s official press release, sent out while the media call still was taking place. “After sitting down with our team and partners, the decision was obvious: Give the greatest MMA fans on earth this amazing show live and free on Spike. Our fans have been incredible to us and I’m thrilled to be able to give them this great card on the greatest network in MMA, Spike. Chandler vs. Alvarez II, Mo vs. Newton II and Curran vs. Strauss II are all unbelievable fights. This is going to be a great, great night.”

The main card also will feature, Rebney said, the finals of Bellator’s “Fight Master” reality competition between Mike Bronzoulis (15-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Joe Riggs (39-14 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). And the promotion is leaving things open to add additional fights to the main card.

Rebney said Ortiz’s injury was unrelated to the injuries the fighter had suffered previously that he had corrective surgery for. He said Ortiz went to see a doctor two days ago for an X-ray and MRI, and the results showed that further injury for Ortiz could have “dire consequences.”

“Tito wanted to fight, and his doctor said asbolutely not,” Rebney said on the call. The executive said that the doctor said if he landed the wrong way or hit injury the wrong way, it could cause paralysis.

Rebney said Bellator’s first pay-per-view still will come some day – but that it made sense now to give the fans the fights for free.

In late July, the announcement came that Ortiz had signed with Bellator and would fight Jackson, a friend and former training partner, in the promotion’s inaugural pay-per-view. Both Ortiz, a UFC Hall of Famer, and Jackson are former UFC light heavyweight champions.

For more on Bellator 106, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Tito Ortiz)