Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz III official for Oscar De La Hoya’s new promotion

Despite both men retiring, the lure of one more go in MMA was enough to bring both Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz out of retirement one more time.

In a fight that had been rumored for quite some time, the former UFC light heavyweight champions will battle for a third time, but the battleground won’t be the UFC, Bellator, or even Japan. Rather, it will be the main event for Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions’ first MMA pay-per-view event.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first to report the news Monday.

The date and venue were not announced, but is expected to be announced soon for later this year. When announcing his intentions to return to MMA, Liddell speculated California would the location if they could get a deal done. The fight will be held inside a cage and is expected to be at light heavyweight.

The 48-year-old Liddell last fought in June 2010 in a knockout loss to Rich Franklin, his third straight defeat and final MMA/UFC fight. He retired at the urging of Dana White and worked for the organization, but was released following WME-IMG’s purchase of the company. 

This will be the second time the 43-year-old Ortiz has come out of retirement. After leaving the UFC in 2012, he returned two years later for Bellator and went 3-1 before calling it quits in January 2017 after a submission over Chael Sonnen.

The two former teammates first fought in April 2004, a fight Liddell won via second round KO. They rematched in December 2006, a fight Liddell won by third round TKO in a defense of his light heavyweight title.