The Weekly Wrap: Nov. 6 - Nov. 12

Odds and Ends

• After speculation he may be cut following his fourth straight loss at UFC 121, Tito Ortiz will return to the Octagon. Ortiz is set to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March, UFC President Dana White confirmed to MMAJunkie.com. The host event, likely to be UFC 128, does not have a confirmed venue yet, though reports swirled that it may mark the UFC’s return to the United Arab Emirates. Nogueira is coming off a loss to Ryan Bader at UFC 119.

• Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii, the subject of widespread speculation in Japan about his participation on a year-end MMA super card, received a chilly reception from the viewing public, as he tapped out professional wrestler Katsuyori Shibata with a kimura on a nationally-televised kickboxing event in Tokyo. Ishii, expected to be the next great Japanese hope for MMA after he took gold in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, did not appreciably move the television ratings needle for the outing. While the fight drew the broadcast’s peak audience, the K-1 Max Final drew a 7.6 percent rating on Tokyo Broadcasting System, a record low for K-1 on the station. The card will air Nov. 20 on HDNet. Ishii said in a post-fight interview that he did not want to participate in either World Victory Road’s Dec. 30 event or Fighting and Entertainment Group’s “Dynamite” event on New Year’s Eve. He inexplicably said he wanted to fight Ortiz.

• Two-time U.S. Olympic wrestler and leading heavyweight prospect Daniel Cormier extended his undefeated streak to six on Nov. 5, stopping UFC veteran Soa Palelei via first-round TKO at an XMMA show in Australia. Cormier, who retained his XMMA heavyweight title, is under contract to Strikeforce but allowed to freelance. Five of his six fights have taken place this year.

• The first MMA event in Israel on Nov. 9 saw former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez struggle to make weight for a 205-pound main event fight against Daniel Tabera but lock up a sound decision win. The 215-pound catchweight bout was Rodriguez’s first fight since a knee injury that required surgery and forced him to pull out of a fight under the Bellator Fighting Championships banner recently. Israeli Fighting Championship “Genesis,” which The Jerusalem Post reported drew 7,000 people to the Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv, also saw the supposed retirement of grizzled veteran Shonie Carter, who dropped a decision to Jeremy Knafo and announced afterward he was stepping down after a 14-year career. Also picking up wins on the card were Jeff Monson, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Daniel Gracie and Frank Trigg.

• An independent film based on the life of deaf UFC light heavyweight Matt Hamill won the award in the Breakthrough category at this year’s American Film Institute Film Festival. The distinction increases the film’s chances of winning wider distribution.