Mauricio Rua manager: I'd like Shogun to fight Tito Ortiz on the New Year's Eve UFC show

Mauricio Rua made a successful return to the Octagon this past Aug. 27, 2011, at UFC 134 in Brazil by knocking out former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin in the very first round.
And now he's got his sights set on... Tito Ortiz?
Indeed, the former 205-pound king apparently desires a contest against "The Bad Boy" before he sets sail for Huntington Beach ... for good.
"Shogun" never did get to square off against Randy Couture before he left the sport, so now his team is making it clear they would like to get their turn against Ortiz before he does the same.
At least, this is what his manager and mouthpiece, Eduardo Alonso, tells Tatame:

"I've been hearing some rumors, but until now there's nothing concrete about UFC. If it depends only on my plannings, he'd fight on December 31st, it'd be great. I'd really like him to fight Tito Ortiz since he's an icon of the sport and will soon retire. He didn't have the chance to fight (Randy) Couture, something Lyoto had the luck and credits to do, but I'd like to see this fight. It came from Tito himself, who challenged him, but we're realistic. I know it's not much likely, so it's only left for us to wait. Everybody knows Shogun doesn't pick his opponents, so we're opened to discussion. To me, the date (December 31st) is more important than the opponent."

Unlikely match-up is unlikely.
Ortiz, who staved off retirement with a stunning first round submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132 on July 2, made a quick turnaround and fought Rashad Evans just over a month later at UFC 133 on Aug. 6.
He lost that fight and wasn't altogether competitive in the process.
As noted previously, Rua is coming off a complete drubbing of Griffin. While matching up the two former champions is certainly a possibility, it clearly doesn't make sense in the grand scheme of the light heavyweight division.
Then again, current division champion Jon Jones is booked to battle Quinton Jackson with the winner of that bout taking on "Suga" Rashad. "Shogun" will need something to do in the meantime.

source sbnation