INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The news conference started late and the internet stream was choppy – a bad sign for an internet card. But soon-to-be three-time opponents Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz got in a few last words before their trilogy on Saturday night.

“Don’t leave,” Liddell told reporters at The Forum, which hosts the internet-streamed card in Inglewood, Calif. “It’s going to end quick. I’m putting this guy to sleep.”

It was the last chance for the UFC Hall of Famers to drum up interest in a $39.99 pay-per-view – twice discounted – that few expected to take place. The headliners claim a third bout will settle a score that wasn’t quite settled by a pair of octagon meetings that ended decisively for Liddell.

The trilogy could also determine whether Oscar De La Hoya branches into a new business, or stays close to his boxing roots. Improvising a welcome speech before a backdrop of main card fighters, the retired boxer and Golden Boy chief professed his plan to make a real go of it in MMA. He talked up Liddell and Ortiz as MMA’s great rivalry and said the UFC legends had carried the sport on their backs.

He also addressed critics who say Liddell and Ortiz are fighting long past their prime, again framing the matchup as an inalienable right among two decorated competitors who feel they are still competitive.

“Who doesn’t like watching a final chapter?” De La Hoya said.

Watching the aging legends square off at the storied arena, it was a blast from the past. Here are some things that happened:

* After twice revising the bout sheet, there are currently 18 bouts on the card, including five amateur bouts contested for state titles under the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO).

* For the first time in the state’s history, amateur fighters will be tested for performance-enhancing drugs, courtesy of assistance from the non-profit Contact Sports Foundation, CSAC commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez told the audience. The CSAC also is implementing a concussion protocol for amateur fighters, whom he said “probably” outnumber professionals by three to one.

* Former UFC middleweight Tom Lawlor didn’t bring an outfit, but promised to make a statement against his opponent Deron Winn.

“I’ve been kind of out of work the past few years,” said Lawlor, who was cut from the industry-leader two months prior to serving a two-year suspension for an anti-doping violation. “My job Saturday is to put other people to work. I’m going to put Deron to work, I’m going to put the doctors to work, and I’m going to make a statement. And at the end of the night, you’ll be talking about me.”

* Winn used Lawlor’s mention of his amateur wrestling credentials to knock his opponent’s professional wrestling career.

“Amateur wrestling is actually real wrestling,” he said. “So I travel the world and I wrestle the best wrestlers in the world and tried to make two Olympic teams. What Tom does is fake. That’s why he’s so good at talking. Hehas to prepare fake speeches all the time. He can convince himself he’s going to do something Saturday night, but this is my time. His time is past.”

* George Prajin, Ortiz’s longtime manager, called his client and Liddell an “iconic mountain stone” in the sport of MMA.

“For all those critics, you need to take into consideration that both these two guys here built the sport, and actually probably carried the sport on their backs for many years. In line with Thanksgiving, we should give them our thanks, and we should show them our appreciation, and we should support this fight.”

* Ortiz introduced a new wrinkle to the fight by calling it an inside job with his friend Dave Thomas and longtime wrestling partner Antonio McKee, Liddell’s coach for Saturday’s fight.

“Guys, we put the fight together,” he said. “Thanks. Chuck, you just got suckered. I know what he’s been doing for the last two and a half months. How he hasn’t been sparring, the guys he’s been wrestling with, everything. So the joke’s on you, buddy.”

* In response, McKee said videos of Liddell training were a setup.

“I’ve got to say out of everybody I’ve ever trained, Chuck is a really standup guy. And before that, I thought Chuck was racist. I never saw anybody black in his camp his whole career. But I was really pleased to be part of his training, and we’re doing a great job here. I like Chuck. I think he’s awesome. Like I said, he’s one of the best.

“The first week I was really worried. I thought Chuck was done. After, I saw him train one week, two weeks, then three weeks, I was impressed. I told Dave Thomas, TNT Management, I said, I think we’re going to beat Tito up. At the end of the camp, our fake videos, whatever we put up that people saw that was entertaining, that was great. But at the end of the camp, this man is amazing at 48 years old. There’s no way you lose to be able to compete at my gym at that age and at the level we trained. I think Chuck’s going to knock out Tito again, and we’re going to go out and have a good time, and thanks again for everything, Tito.”

* Liddell mocked Ortiz’s attempt to get in his head. Staring directly at the former champ, he asked, “You think I’m worried about you? You think that works? You think you can play mind games with me?”

* Ortiz bit, and the two went back and forth about their previous fights. Ortiz claimed the referee at UFC 66 – Steve Mazzagatti – was in Liddell’s “back pocket.”

“He said move or I’m going to stop it,” Liddell said. “You looked at him like a big deer in headlights.”

Ortiz shot back, “Oh, c’mon. That was Mazzagatti, your (expletive) partner. Are you joking me?

“You’ve been knocked out before. You’ll be knocked out again.”

Liddell replied, “Good. Come after it.”

For more on Golden Boy MMA: Liddell vs. Ortiz, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.