Tito Ortiz officially joins Affliction ... as commentator

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has signed on with Affliction Entertainment, although not in the capacity that most expected. He will join the "Day of Reckoning" broadcast team that is already comprised of play-by-play announcer Sean Wheelock and color commentator Jimmy Smith, according to a report by Sherdog.com.

Sources over the weekend indicated that Ortiz revealed that he was headed to Affliction, but no one at the promotion, nor Ortiz would confirm or deny such an agreement when contacted by MMAWeekly.com. It appears that those sources were correct, to a point, as he now joins the Affliction broadcast team.

The announcement regarding Ortiz was made at a press conference on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Affliction is preparing for its sophomore effort, "Day of Reckoning," on Jan. 24 in Anaheim, Calif., which is where Ortiz will assume commentating duties.

Ortiz has been out of action since leaving the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a loss to Lyoto Machida in May. He underwent back surgery on Oct. 6 and doesn't plan to be back in the ring anytime soon.