According to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, light heavyweight Tito Ortiz risks serious injury returning to the cage unless he’s able to heal from a fractured neck. “There’s not a substantive answer at this point as to whether he’s going to come back, and if he did come back, when that would occur,” Rebney said during a recent teleconference. Ortiz (16-11-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was scheduled to headline Bellator’s first pay-per-view effort this past November in Long Beach, Calif., in a bout opposite fellow ex-UFC champ Quinton Jackson , but his neck injury forced him to withdraw. Ortiz’s future as a fighter remains a question mark due to the nature of his injury, Rebney said. “It’s an unsettling conversation to have a specialist in the field of neck injuries tell you that with the right kind of drop on the head, or the right impact to the spine, paralysis could be a result. That’s never a good conversation.” Rebney spoke to the specialist after receiving word of Ortiz’s injury, which he said was backed up by X-rays confirming the damage.
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Tito Ortiz’s return date unknown, Bellator CEO comments on DUI – MMA Junkie