Tito Ortiz is a pain in the neck. What? Oh. Tito Ortiz has a pain in the neck.

So it’s a neck injury that forced Tito Ortiz to withdraw from coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter and a subsequent fight with Chuck Liddell. Not the flu or partner Jenna Jameson’s miscarriage or any of the other theories that floated around the internet this week. At least, that’s the story right now. Ortiz is out and Rich Franklin has stepped in as coach, although he won’t be fighting Liddell.

Ortiz has a history of back problems so maybe this is in some way related. Or maybe he got dropped on his head by an overzealous TUF contender. Short of being in a wheelchair, though, I have to wonder what would keep him from coaching the show. It’s not as though it’s a physically demanding job. The most Quinton “Rampage” Jackson did during his stint on the show is tear apart a cardboard door.