Despite a report published late Tuesday on SI.com, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz did not appear at Affliction’s press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday and has yet to sign with the organization.

The promotion was in town to kickoff the push for its Oct. 11 “Day of Reckoning” PPV event.

According to reports at Sherdog.com, Affliction contradicted the SI report which stated that Tito’s lucrative contract signing was expected to be announced formally on Wednesday.

Officials with the promotion said that Ortiz has in fact not signed with the company.

Reports went on to say that an attorney for Affliction entertainment confirmed potential interest in Ortiz but went so far as to brand the original report by SI as a rumor.

There has been nothing to confirm the situation either way but if I were speculating (which of course I would never do) I would be willing to bet the 2 sides were close to a deal and one party or the other wasn’t completely satisfied. But there is also the chance that the report simply had no validity whatsoever. Hopefully in coming weeks we will find out.