Oscar De La Hoya drops potential date for Liddell vs. Ortiz 3, vows to fix “terrible” MMA pay structure

UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz are going to fight for a third time. They will do so in a fight promoted by retired boxer Oscar De La Hoya as part of the new Golden Boy MMA venture. That’s been clear for awhile. Yet while this polarizing fight itself has been official for some time, the date and setting have remained a mystery.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV this week, Oscar De La Hoya provided a bit of clarity on that front.

“We are looking at the weekend of November 25th, the Thanksgiving weekend,” he said (transcript via MMAMania). “So yeah, we are going to do it big just like we do it [in boxing].”

As he ventures into the MMA space, one of Oscar De La Hoya’s main goals is to pay fighters better. He believes the current pay structure in the sport is “terrible” and is hellbent on assuring fighters are well compensated. They do, after all, put their health on the line for our entertainment.

“I am really looking forward to getting into the MMA world and making sure that these fighters are being compensated well,” Oscar De La Hoya said. “Look, we risk our lives up in the ring, so fighters should be compensated extremely well. The current structure is terrible. I have been talking to many, many fighters in MMA and it’s ridiculous what they get paid. It’s crazy, it makes me sick to my stomach. So I’m going to start Golden Boy MMA for a reason, and it’s going to start with Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, to pay them correctly. To pay them what they deserve.”

While there aren’t many details out with respect to to Liddell and Ortiz’s paydays, the latter certainly seems to think he’ll cash in. 

“We’re both partners. De La Hoya wants his 40 percent and me and Chuck Liddell get to split 30 percent,” Ortiz said on a recent episode of Submission Radio. “So that’s on complete revenue of the whole fight in general. And this is the whole thing that I’ve been waiting for such a long time in mixed martial arts, to really make a difference, and we’re gonna do that with De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions.”