Tito Ortiz: Difference between revisions
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The second fight was against [[Ken Shamrock]] at ''[[UFC 61]]'' on [[July 8]], a match which was to conclude a main storyline in ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 3]]'', which Ortiz won in the first round by TKO due to a stoppage by referee [[Herb Dean]] due to repeated elbows. However as soon as the fight was stopped Shamrock protested that the stoppage was early. So on [[August 25]] [[2006]], at the [[UFC 62]] weigh in, [[Dana White]] announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for [[October 10]], on [[Spike TV]], as the main event of [[Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter]]. Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to multiple undefended strikes to Shamrocks head. |
The second fight was against [[Ken Shamrock]] at ''[[UFC 61]]'' on [[July 8]], a match which was to conclude a main storyline in ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 3]]'', which Ortiz won in the first round by TKO due to a stoppage by referee [[Herb Dean]] due to repeated elbows. However as soon as the fight was stopped Shamrock protested that the stoppage was early. So on [[August 25]] [[2006]], at the [[UFC 62]] weigh in, [[Dana White]] announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for [[October 10]], on [[Spike TV]], as the main event of [[Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter]]. Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to multiple undefended strikes to Shamrocks head. |
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Tito's most recent fight against [[Chuck Liddell]] for the [[UFC]] [[Light Heavyweight (MMA)|Light Heavyweight]] championship at UFC 66 on December 30 ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the 3rd round |
Tito's most recent fight against [[Chuck Liddell]] for the [[UFC]] [[Light Heavyweight (MMA)|Light Heavyweight]] championship at UFC 66 on December 30 ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the 3rd round. |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Revision as of 01:45, 15 March 2007
Jacob C. "Tito" Ortiz aka "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" (born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial arts fighter from Huntington Beach, California. Born to an American mother and a Mexican father, he spent many nights in juvenile detention facilities as a kid. At the age of 13 his mother separated from his father and moved Tito and his brothers from Santa Ana back to a suburb of Huntington Beach. It was during this time that Tito claims to have been a member of a street gang though no records of any such activity exist. As a former Light Heavyweight UFC champion, Ortiz became one of the sport's biggest stars, headlining several pay per view championship cards, and appearing on the covers of various magazines, such as Black Belt Magazine. Ortiz is recognized as a charismatic, if controversial and highly-criticized fighter.
Mixed martial arts career
Amateur
Ortiz began his martial arts career as a wrestler in his sophomore year of high school. Under coach Paul Herrera, Ortiz would place 4th in the state high school championships as a senior. Following high school, Ortiz continued his wrestling career winning a California state junior college title for Golden West College. Following his stint at Golden West, Ortiz wrestled at Cal State Bakersfield. While never a full-time starter, Ortiz did gain significant experience training with future NCAA and world champion Stephen Neal.
His mixed martial arts debut was at UFC 13 in 1997. Still in college, Ortiz competed as an amateur for no prize money or contracts. He beat Wes Albittron on the tournament's first round by referee stoppage due to a barrage of punches, but lost in the next round to Guy Mezger in a bout that he was dominating early on. The Mezger match showed the potential Ortiz had for dominating his opponents with control and hard, sharp elbows (ground and pound).
In an interview for UFC 30, Ortiz said about his motivation to fight in the UFC: "The first time i really realized that i wanted to do it was when i watched Jerry Bohlander win the Lightweight belt [in UFC 12]. I wrestled Jerry in high school, and i smoked him." [...] "If i can do that to him and he's doing it to those guys, maybe i should give it a try."
Road to the title
After returning with TKO victories over Jeremy Screeton at West Coast NHB Championships 1, and Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18, Ortiz dominated a rematch with Mezger at UFC 19. This time, the much smaller Mezger was out-wrestled, with Ortiz winning by TKO due to strikes. After winning the fight, Ortiz put on a t-shirt that read "Gay Mezger Is My Bitch" and gave the assembled Lion's Den, with whom Mezger trained, the finger (both fingers). Thus began both his rivalry with Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den, as well as his custom of wearing t-shirts that belittled his opponent after victories or express his strong Democratic political views (his UFC 51 t-shirt stated "Bring Home Our Troops- Get out of Iraq!)[1].
In 1999 Ortiz fought Frank Shamrock for the UFC Middleweight (200 pound) title at UFC 22, losing what turned out to be an epic match via submission due to strikes. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the championship. The Middleweight title was renamed the Light Heavyweight title and Ortiz was chosen along with Wanderlei Silva as the top contenders. Their title fight at UFC 25 left Ortiz the champion via unanimous decision. Ortiz would successfully defend the belt five times in the following three years, defeating Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Lion's Den head Ken Shamrock, who had held a grudge with Ortiz since the Mezger incident.
Controversy
When it was time for Chuck Liddell (then a rising star in the UFC and #1 light heavyweight contender) to get his title shot, Ortiz began a hiatus from title defenses. Ortiz had previously publicly challenged Liddell but now claimed that he and Liddell were friends and claimed a pact was made stating that they would never fight one another. Ortiz also expressed dissatisfaction with his contract with the UFC and they could not come to terms. An exasperated UFC management created an Interim Light Heavyweight Title to coax Ortiz to a fight. He finally agreed to fight the new Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, who had defeated Liddell for the interim title, at UFC 43 in September 2003. Couture defeated Ortiz via unanimous decision.
Following his loss to Randy Couture, Ortiz finally faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 47. Ortiz lost by second round knockout. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over newcomer Patrick Cote at UFC 50, and a controversial split decision over Vitor Belfort at UFC 51. In February 2005, contract issues left Ortiz on bad terms with the UFC and its president Dana White, (who was also Ortiz' former business manager). During this time away from the UFC, Ortiz was offered deals with several promotions, including PRIDE Fighting Championships and the Don King-backed World Fighting Alliance, but none came to fruition. Ortiz opted to try his hand at professional wrestling, signing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a guest referee.
After most of his UFC fights in which he wins, he wears a t-shirt that features a message. The t-shirt ordeal has become a staple for him. Here is a past list of the t-shirts he has worn:
- TitoOrtiz.com. Retrieved July 20, 2006.
Theme Music
- TitoOrtiz.com. Retrieved Jan. 6, 2007.
Professional wrestling career
In May 2005, Ortiz followed in the footsteps of rival Ken Shamrock when he agreed to appear with the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
On May 15, 2005 at TNA Hard Justice Ortiz served as special guest referee in the NWA World Heavyweight Championship title match between Jeff Jarrett and A.J. Styles at the behest of Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes. Ortiz played a large role in the buildup to the match as well as the outcome, in which he (kayfabe) knocked out Jeff Jarrett with a right hook after Jarrett shoved him. This allowed Styles to hit his Spiral Tap for the pinfall victory and claim the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Jarrett.
Ortiz returned to wrestling once again to referee an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match in October 2005. His appearance was at TNA Bound For Glory at the behest of Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko for the match intended to be between Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash. Ortiz played an even bigger role in the buildup of the match this time, attacking both men on an episode of TNA iMPACT! when they brawled prior to their scheduled match.
Nash had to withdraw from the match after suffering chest pains the previous night, so TNA management inserted Rhino into the fold after he won a ten-man gauntlet match. Ortiz maintained order with some success, preventing interference from multiple sources but failing to prevent Jarrett from cheating. Rhino won the match (his third of the night) and the title, but Ortiz left the ring immediately after the match as a brawl ensued involving Jarrett, Rhino, Team Canada, Team 3D, The 3Live Kru, and America's Most Wanted.
Ortiz did an interview on YouTube with Bubba which promoted TNA Bound For Glory 2006 where he said that he might one day return to TNA and compete.
Return to MMA
Surprisingly, in November 2005, Dana White announced that Ortiz and his still-bitter rival Ken Shamrock would coach The Ultimate Fighter 3 reality TV series, which premiered in April of 2006.
On October 10, 2006, Tito announced that on October 20 he will have a boxing match against UFC president Dana White. The match between White and Ortiz was written into Tito's contract when he returned to the UFC [2]. It is a three-round boxing sparring session. The sparring match will be private; it will not be shown to fans or spectators in a live audience, however White said that there is a possibility of them showing the fight somewhere and donating the profits to charity. [3]
Ortiz's first fight in his highly anticipated return occurred at UFC 59 on April 15 2006 against previous The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Forrest Griffin. In the first round Ortiz totally dominated Griffin, seemingly showing that he was in another league. Yet in rounds 2 and 3 Ortiz appeared to gas - and ended up grinding out a split decision win. This was puzzling as one of Ortiz's greatest strengths was his cardio. Ortiz later revealed that his fading after round 1 was due to a multitude of injuries leading up to the fight, which had not allowed him to train properly.
The second fight was against Ken Shamrock at UFC 61 on July 8, a match which was to conclude a main storyline in The Ultimate Fighter 3, which Ortiz won in the first round by TKO due to a stoppage by referee Herb Dean due to repeated elbows. However as soon as the fight was stopped Shamrock protested that the stoppage was early. So on August 25 2006, at the UFC 62 weigh in, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for October 10, on Spike TV, as the main event of Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to multiple undefended strikes to Shamrocks head.
Tito's most recent fight against Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship at UFC 66 on December 30 ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the 3rd round.
Personal life
Ortiz has a son, Jacob Jr. with his ex-wife, Kristin. Ortiz is now dating former adult film actress, Jenna Jameson [1].
Mixed martial arts record
- TitoOrtiz.com. Retrieved April 7, 2006.
Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, 5 title defenses
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 2002 Feud of the Year (vs Ken Shamrock)
- 2006 Feud of the Year (vs Ken Shamrock)
References
Trivia
- Punishment Athletics (Tito's Clothing Line) is sponsoring many high school wrestling teams. Among them is Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, CA.