Frank Shamrock Talks Rematch With Tito Ortiz

Frank Shamrock may fight Tito Ortiz in 2009.

Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock (23-8-1) likes to plan out his fights in advance. In fact, even though he'll be facing Cung Le (5-0-0) on March 29 in San Jose, Calif., he's already picking who he'll face in 2009.

Originally, he wanted to face his older brother Ken Shamrock (26-13-2) for a battle between adopted brothers, a concept he calls "blood brothers" according to Yahoo! Sports. Now, however, with Ken losing by first round TKO in Cage Rage, financial backers of the fight have gotten nervous, fearing that fans might not want to see a Shamrock vs. Shamrock match.

According to the report, Frank is also speaking with Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) about a possible rematch. He and Ortiz first fought at UFC 22: Only One Can Be Champion, in September 1999. Shamrock won by fourth-round submission due to strikes, then retired from the UFC.

Ortiz has one fight left on his UFC contract, a May 24 battle against Lyoto Machida (12-0-0) at UFC 84: Ill Will. After that, he has said he plans on leaving the UFC for other events.

Currently, Ortiz is the +160 underdog against Machida in the Bodog Sportsbook. For his match against Le, Shamrock is the -220 favorite to win.