Five belt defenses, trilogies with Liddell and Shamrock and beef with Dana: meet Tito Ortiz, the Bad Boy from Huntington Beach

T. Ortiz is a former UFC champion. Photo: Disclosure/Facebook

Opponent of Anderson Silva in a professional boxing fight next Saturday (11), Tito Ortiz He is an established name in MMA, especially in the UFC, the organization for which he was champion and fought for most of his career.

See too

#STORIES – It's been a while... See the main events in the year of Evander Holyfield's last appearance in boxing

Executioner of Tyson and Maguila: who is he and how big is Belfort's problem this Saturday?

How to watch Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort's fights against Tito Ortiz and Evander Holyfield in Boxing, LIVE on television and the internet

In addition to his talent for martial arts, which made him UFC light heavyweight champion (up to 93 kg) with five successful title defenses, Tito Ortiz He also relied on charisma and many rivalries, including with President Dana White, to become one of the most popular athletes in MMA.

The beginning of the trajectory

Son of heroin addicted parents, Tito Ortiz He didn't have an easy childhood in Huntington Beach, California, and at a young age he found himself involved with drugs and gangs on the streets. The big turning point came at age 19, when, after being kicked out of the house by his own mother, he met an old high school wrestling coach who encouraged him to enroll in college.

In 1997, at age 22, Tito Ortiz He made his Octagon debut at UFC 13. As he was still in college, he competed as an amateur, without a contract or salary. Tito defeated Wes Albritton by technical knockout 30 seconds into the first round and ended up selected to face Guy Mezger in the grand final of the light heavyweight tournament, on the same night. Despite dominating most of the fight, Tito ended up being submitted by guillotine choke and losing his chance at his first UFC title.

Long reign at light heavyweight

The second chance to compete for a UFC title, in a format more similar to the current one, came after three consecutive victories, including one over his first tormentor, Guy Mezger. Tito faced Frank Shamrock for the light heavyweight title, but ended up defeated by technical knockout in what was considered the fight of the year in 1999.

The frustration was short-lived. After facing Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock announced his retirement and relinquished the title. The UFC then arranged the duel between Tito and the Brazilian Wanderlei Silva for the vacant belt. The two faced each other at UFC 25, in Tokyo, and the “Bad Boy from Huntington Beach” emerged victorious by unanimous decision, finally winning the light heavyweight belt and beginning a long reign in the division.

In total, there were more than three years with the belt and five title defenses against Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Ken Shamrock. The reign lasted until September 2003, when Tito was defeated by then interim champion Randy Couture.

Trilogies against Ken Shamrock and Chuck Liddell

T. Ortiz (right) beat C. Liddell (left) at 4:24 of the first round. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @goldenboyboxing

It's impossible to talk about rivalries in MMA without going through the name of Tito Ortiz. Of all the ones he was involved in, two became historical trilogies that helped a lot to popularize the sport.

The first great rivalry of Tito Ortiz was against Ken Shamrock. Although they only faced each other for the first time in November 2002, the rivalry began much earlier, in 1999.

When he defeated Guy Mezger, an athlete on Ken Shamrock's team, Tito Ortiz, with all his provocative style, wore a shirt with the words: “Guy Mezger is my b***h”. The provocation caused Shamrock's anger and resulted in a huge fight in the locker rooms.

Much heavier than Ortiz, Ken Shamrock agreed to move down a category and face his rival for the light heavyweight title even though he hadn't fought in Ultimate since 1996. The fight between the two tripled the UFC's pay-per-view record and ended in victory by Tito, after Shamrock's corner threw in the towel.

The two faced each other again on two occasions more than four years later. The duels held in July and October 2006 had the same outcome as the first: overwhelming victories by Tito Ortiz.

If the rivalry with Ken Shamrock was forged in hatred, the same cannot be said about the history of Tito Ortiz with Chuck Liddell. Contemporaries, the “Bad Boy of Huntington Beach” and the “Iceman” trained together and had a friendly relationship as they became two of the greatest light heavyweights in the world. Despite denying the possibility of facing each other for a long time, the meeting would become inevitable as they continued to win their fights.

After many requests from the public and with the natural distance between the two, the duel was confirmed. Tito and Liddell faced each other for the first time in April 2004, after the “Bad Boy from Huntington Beach” lost the title to Randy Couture. Dominating the fight from start to finish, Chuck Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz in the second round.

The two faced each other again in December 2006, with another victory for Liddell by knockout, this time to defend the light heavyweight title won in the same year. The trilogy concluded more than a decade later, in November 2018, with Tito Ortiz achieving an honorary knockout victory against a Liddell who had retired for more than eight years at an event held by Golden Boy Promotions.

Love-hate relationship and “almost fight” with Dana White

Still as a UFC athlete, T. Ortiz wears a t-shirt provoking Dana White. Photo: Arnold Lin

This Saturday (11), Tito Ortiz will make his professional boxing debut against Anderson Silva. What not everyone knows, however, is that the American was close to debuting in the noble art in 2007 against none other than Dana White, the president of the UFC.

Dana White was Tito Ortiz's first manager. Their relationship began to deteriorate when Dana became president of the UFC. After Ortiz left Ultimate in 2005 amid a contract dispute, the two began attacking each other in the press.

In 2006, Tito Ortiz returned to the UFC, but with a curious condition: the former light heavyweight champion would face President Dana White in a fully sanctioned boxing match broadcast on television. The fight, obviously, never happened, and one blames the other for the cancellation to this day. In 2020, Dana White claimed that he trained hard for the fight and that he would be able to defeat Tito on that occasion.

Another notable moment in the rivalry between the two happened in May 2008. During the UFC 84 weigh-in, Tito Ortiz appeared dressed in a shirt with the following words: Dana White is my bitch”. The next day, the “Bad Boy from Huntington Beach” lost to the Brazilian Lyoto Machida and said another temporary goodbye to Ultimate. In 2009, the fighter returned to the organization and in 2010 he made peace with the president during the UFC 121 weigh-in, wearing a shirt with the words: “Dana White is my hero” before being defeated by Matt Hamill.

The post-UFC: brief retirement, Bellator and interim mayor of Huntington Beach

T. Ortiz returned to MMA at Bellator Photo: Disclosure/Bellator

Between comings and goings, Tito Ortiz remained in the UFC until July 2012, when he was defeated by Forrest griffin at UFC 148 and chose to retire after the fight.

The decision, however, was not definitive. Just under two years later, the “Bad Boy from Huntington Beach” returned to action in Bellator, where he won three victories and lost a single fight, valid for the light heavyweight belt, against Liam McGeary. After his good time at Bellator, he put on the gloves twice more to defeat Chuck Liddell, in 2018 and Alberto El Patrón, in 2019.

In 2020, Tito Ortiz decided to venture into politics in his hometown. The fighter won one of the three available seats on the Huntington Beach city council, leading the elections among 15 candidates with almost 35 thousand votes. With success in the new venture, Ortiz became mayor “Pro Tempore”, a kind of interim mayor of the city. In June of this year, however, the bad boy surprised and resigned from his position alleging persecution and friction with colleagues on the Municipal Council.

Fatal change? Makhachev ignores warning and could end tragically at welterweight!