Tito Ortiz (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (English: /t?t? ??rt?s/) (born January 23, 1975) is a retired Mexican American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock.

Outside of his fighting career, Ortiz is the CEO of the Punishment Athletics MMA equipment and clothing line. He also owns an MMA training gym called Punishment Training Center, which is located in Huntington Beach, CA. On July 7, 2012, Ortiz became the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Early life and career

Jacob Christopher Ortiz was born to Samuel and Joyce Ortiz. He received his nickname "Tito," which means tyrant, from his father when he was a year old. He is the fourth child of his mother, Joyce, who had three sons from a previous marriage. His mixed heritage (Mexican father, American mother) has been reflected in his ring entrances as he has borne both Mexican and American flags.

Ortiz began wrestling in his sophomore year at Huntington Beach High School under coach Paul Herrera. Finishing fourth in the state high school championships as a senior. Ortiz continued his wrestling career at Golden West College, winning two California state junior college titles. Following his stint at Golden West, Ortiz wrestled at Cal State Bakersfield. Ortiz trained with future NCAA, World and Super Bowl champion Stephen Neal.

Ortiz has had fights as a submission wrestler and competed in the 2000 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling tournament, in the under 99 kg division. He finished in third place after winning 4 fights before losing in the semi-final to Ayaz Qadir. During the tournament he defeated Matt Hughes, Mike van Arsdale, Rumina Sato and Rostyslav Borysenko.

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Prior to his UFC career, Ortiz was Tank Abbott's training partner. Ortiz's 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 Albritton in an alternate bout by referee stoppage at 0:31 of the first round. He was selected to face Guy Mezger in the Lightweight final after Enson Inoue could not continue due to injury. Despite dominating Mezger at first, Ortiz lost the fight at 2:00 in the first round by guillotine submission. After returning with a TKO victory over Jeremy Screeton at West Coast NHB Championships 1, Ortiz fought top ranked fighter and UFC 12 lightweight champion Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18. Ortiz dominated the fight and won via TKO due to cut stoppage. Ortiz then avenged his loss to Mezger at UFC 19 by TKO. Ortiz's post fight antics towards Mezger and the Lion's Den led to his long running rivalry with Lion's Den leader Ken Shamrock.

Ortiz has credited former UFC Heavyweight Champion Bas Rutten for inspiration during his early days. Ortiz said; "I looked up to Bas Rutten. Bas was my idol. People were just so scared of fighting him, he was like the man. I thought that was what I need to do now. If I train as hard as he does then one day I'll be as good as him and two years later look where I am, I'm on top of the world. I'm got to say thanks to him, (Bas) for helping me out by making me believe in dreams."

In 1999, Ortiz fought Frank Shamrock for the UFC middleweight (199 lb) title at UFC 22, despite controlling Shamrock for the majority of the fight, Ortiz ended up losing via submission due to strikes. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the championship. The middleweight division was then renamed the light heavyweight (205 lb) division and Ortiz was chosen, along with Wanderlei Silva, as a top contender. Ortiz defeated Silva for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 25 via unanimous decision. He went on to defend the light heavyweight belt a record five times in the following three years, defeating Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Lion's Den head Ken Shamrock.

At UFC 44, after a near year-long layoff from the sport, Ortiz fought the new interim light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who had defeated Chuck Liddell for the interim title at UFC 43 in September 2003. Couture defeated Ortiz via unanimous decision. The loss ended Ortiz's near three and a half year title reign, which is still the longest light heavyweight championship reign since the title's inception in 1997. Following his loss to Couture, Ortiz faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 47, losing by TKO in the second round. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over newcomer Patrick Côté at UFC 50 and a split decision over Vitor Belfort at UFC 51.

In February 2005, Ortiz took time away from the UFC and 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.

In November 2005, UFC president Dana White announced Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach The Ultimate Fighter 3 reality TV series on Spike TV, which premiered in April 2006. Ortiz's first fight in his return occurred at UFC 59 on April 15, 2006, against previous The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Forrest Griffin. Ortiz won via split decision. His next fight was against UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock at UFC 61 on July 8, 2006, a match which was to conclude a main rivalry on The Ultimate Fighter 3. Shamrock lost in the first round by TKO due to strikes (elbows) by Ortiz. On August 25, 2006, at the UFC 62 weigh-ins, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for October 10, 2006, 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 strikes. On December 30, 2006, at UFC 66, Ortiz's rematch with Chuck Liddell (for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship) ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the third round.

He then fought against undefeated The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner Rashad Evans on July 7, 2007, at UFC 73. Ortiz took charge of the fight from the outset, taking Evans down & controlling him. In the second round Ortiz once again took control & nearly submitted Evans before the culmination of the round. The fight ended in a draw after Ortiz was penalized for grabbing the fence. Ortiz's last fight on his contract with the UFC was a unanimous decision loss to the then undefeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 on May 24, 2008. All three judges scored the fight 30"27 to Machida. Ortiz came close to submitting Machida in the third round with a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar. However, Machida managed to escape and survived the round, winning a unanimous judges' decision. The fight concluded Ortiz' stay with the promotion as he chose not to re-sign, citing his frustration with UFC president Dana White as a major factor in the decision.

Outside the UFC

After leaving the UFC, Ortiz was approached by multiple promotions, including the now defunct EliteXC, Affliction and the American Fight League. However, a clause in his old UFC contract forbade him from signing with or fighting for any other organization until approximately April"June 2009. Until his return to the UFC, Ortiz was considered the biggest free agent on the market.

On October 6, 2008, Ortiz underwent back surgery in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to his website, he had been experiencing back pain since his fight with Randy Couture.

On Wednesday, December 17, 2008, Affliction Entertainment announced that Ortiz would be part of the broadcast team for the Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Ortiz had said he would fight again in August 2009, but this did not occur. He has officially retired from MMA fighting.

Return to the UFC

As part of his comeback to the UFC, Ortiz began training with his original Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo instructor Cleber Luciano a student of Royler Gracie. Ortiz originally briefly trained with Luciano back in 1997, when he was still a student at Golden West College.

On July 17, 2009, both Ortiz and Dana White stated that the pair had made amends. One week later, White announced that he re-signed Tito. Ortiz stated he is returning for a six fight deal he and White have worked out. White officially announced Ortiz's return in a conference call on July 31, 2009. White mentioned that "everyone wants to see Tito fight" and "Tito will retire in the UFC." Mark Coleman was named as Ortiz's opponent for his return to the octagon at UFC 106. However, Coleman pulled out of this bout due to a second-degree tear of his MCL, and was replaced by Forrest Griffin.

Due to an illness to heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, Ortiz's fight with Griffin was promoted to the headliner of UFC 106. Griffin won the fight via split decision, showing superior striking ability. Whilst Ortiz was able to secure takedowns in the first and second rounds, Griffin showed considerable improvement since their first fight and kept the fight standing throughout the third, leading to the split decision victory.

On December 5, it was announced Ortiz would coach the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the opposing coach being Chuck Liddell. He was scheduled to fight Liddell again for the third time at the end of the season and later pulled out of the bout. On April 7, 2010, UFC president Dana White said Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 was scheduled to be the main event for UFC 115. However, on April 12, 2010, the UFC confirmed the main event for the card was Liddell vs. Rich Franklin.

Ortiz fought Matt Hamill on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121. Hamill was Ortiz's first overall pick during Season 3 of the Ultimate Fighter. Ortiz lost the fight via unanimous decision (29"28 29"28 30"27).

UFC President Dana White hinted at Tito Ortiz's possible release from the UFC in a post fight interview after UFC 121 stating that 'We all know what happens when guys lose four fights in the UFC'. There has been no official statement to confirm this however. On November 7, in a response to a fan via his Twitter, Ortiz stated that he will again fight in the UFC.

Ortiz was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on March 26, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 24. UFC president Dana White said that he had expected to cut Ortiz loose from the UFC after his loss to Hamill, but decided to give him one last chance against Nogueira. Ortiz received a cut above his eye and a concussion while training for his fight with Nogueira and was forced to withdraw. He was replaced by Phil Davis.

Ortiz took on Ryan Bader on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132. Coming in as a heavy underdog with his UFC career on the line (despite stating that in his previous 5 fights, he'd been plagued by injury and that's why he'd lost them), Ortiz dropped Bader with strikes and submitted him using a guillotine choke at 1:56 of the first round, thus securing his first victory since 2006 and saving his UFC career. The victory earned him "Submission of the Night" honors.

In a rematch against Rashad Evans on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133 in which he replaced an injured Phil Davis on about a months' notice. Ortiz lost by TKO in dominant fashion, via strikes to the body in the second round.

Ortiz faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on December 10, 2011 at UFC 140. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. He would state after the fight that he'd suffered a neck injury before the fight, but decided to fight anyway, because his intention was to hopefully bring the fans a victory.

Ortiz then stated he would retire after his next fight, which would turn out to be the last fight on his contract, which would be against Forrest Griffin at UFC 148.

Ortiz faced Forrest Griffin for a third time on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148. Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame prior to his final bout, which he lost in a very close fight via unanimous decision in a Fight of the Night winning performance.

Professional wrestling

In May 2005, Ortiz made an appearance for the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). On May 15, 2005 at Hard Justice Ortiz served as special guest referee in the NWA World Heavyweight Championship title match between champion Jeff Jarrett and challenger A.J. Styles at the behest of Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes. Ortiz (in 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 TNA on the October 1 edition of TNA Impact! and the following week he was revealed as the special guest referee for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view, in a segment, where he grabbed the number one contender Nash in a rear naked choke in order to prevent him from brawling with Jarrett. On October 23 at Bound for Glory Ortiz refereed the match for the title between Jarrett and Rhino, a last minute replacement for Nash. Ortiz (kayfabe) knocked out James Storm and Chris Harris, two of Jarrett's associates, who attempted to interfere in the match, and then counted the pinfall, which made Rhino the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Film

Tito made a cameo in the 2008 comedy Zombie Strippers as the bouncer of the Rhino. In addition, he has a cameo in Jet Li's Cradle 2 the Grave, as well as co-starring in The Crow: Wicked Prayer. Tito also played a minor role in Turkish film Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, and briefly appeared in Korn's music video "Got the Life". Tito also appeared on Hell's Kitchen where he sat at a chef's table.

Personal life

Ortiz was married to his first wife, Kristin, for 5 years. The couple has a son named Jacob together. In 2006, he began dating former adult film star Jenna Jameson, whom he met on Myspace. He cancelled a November 12, 2006 appearance as the guest of honor at the United States Marine Corps birthday ball at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, when the Corps refused to let him bring Jameson as his guest. On November 30, 2006, in an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Ortiz stated that he was in love with Jameson, that she was no longer acting in pornography, and that they were in a monogamous relationship.

Ortiz announced in August 2008 that he and Jameson were expecting twins together in April 2009. On March 16, 2009, Jameson gave birth to twin boys, Jesse Jameson and Journey Jette.

On April 26, 2010, Ortiz was arrested for felony domestic violence at the couple's Huntington Beach, California home. Jameson was photographed afterward that day with a bandaged arm, amid accusations by both parties against each other, with Ortiz accusing Jameson of being erratic and addicted to OxyContin, while she alleged that he was abusive. Since the incident occurred, both parties have recanted these allegations that were made toward one another, though as of April 29, 2010, the investigation by the police department remains open.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Hall of Fame
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
  • Five successful title defenses
  • UFC 13 Light Heavyweight Tournament Runner-Up
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (One time)
  • Fight of the Night (Four times)
  • Most fights in UFC history (Twenty-seven)
  • Second most wins in the Light Heavyweight division (Fifteen)
  • Most successful Light Heavyweight title defenses in UFC history (Five)
  • Most consecutive successful Light Heavyweight title defenses in UFC history (Five)
  • Most championship fights in the Light Heavyweight division (Nine)
  • Most wins in Light Heavyweight division championship fights (Six)
  • Most losses on Light Heavyweight division championship fights (Three)
  • Most championship rounds fought on Light Heavyweight division (Twenty-eight)
  • Tied (Matt Hughes) for third most consecutive title defenses in UFC history (Five)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Fight of the Year (1999) vs. Frank Shamrock on September 24

• Fighting Spirit Magazine
  • Fight of the Year (2006) vs. Forrest Griffin on April 15

Submission grappling

• Abu Dhabi Combat Club
  • 2000 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships ?99 kg Bronze Medalist
  • 2000 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Absolute 4th Place

Amateur wrestling

• California Community College Athletic Association
  • CCCAA State Champion (1995, 1996)
  • CCCAA All-American (1995, 1996)
  • CCCAA All-State Selection (1995, 1996)
• California Interscholastic Federation
  • CIF All-State Selection (1993)

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Loss |align=center|16"11"1 | Forrest Griffin |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 148 |}} |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|16"10"1 | Antônio Rogério Nogueira |TKO (punches and elbows to the body) |UFC 140 |}} |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:15 |Ontario, Canada | |- |Loss |align=center|16"9"1 | Rashad Evans |TKO (knee to the body and punches) |UFC 133 |}} |align=center| 2 |align=center| 4:48 |Pennsylvania, United States | |- |Win |align=center|16"8"1 | Ryan Bader |Submission (guillotine choke) |UFC 132 |}} |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:56 |Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|15"8"1 | Matt Hamill |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 121 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |California, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|15"7"1 | Forrest Griffin |Decision (split) |UFC 106 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|15"6"1 | Lyoto Machida |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 84 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Draw |align=center|15"5"1 | Rashad Evans |Draw (unanimous) |UFC 73 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |California, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|15"5 | Chuck Liddell |TKO (punches) |UFC 66 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|3:59 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|15"4 | Ken Shamrock |TKO (punches) |Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|2:22 |Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14"4 | Ken Shamrock |TKO (elbows) |UFC 61 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|1:18 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|13"4 | Forrest Griffin |Decision (split) |UFC 59 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |California, United States | |- |Win |align=center|12"4 | Vitor Belfort |Decision (split) |UFC 51 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|11"4 | Patrick Côté |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 50 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |New Jersey, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|10"4 | Chuck Liddell |KO (punches) |UFC 47 |}} |align=center|2 |align=center|0:38 |Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|10"3 | Randy Couture |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 44 |}} |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|10"2 | Ken Shamrock |TKO (corner stoppage) |UFC 40 |}} |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|9"2 | Vladimir Matyushenko |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 33 |}} |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|8"2 | Elvis Sinosic |TKO (punches and elbows) |UFC 32 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|3:32 |New Jersey, United States | |- |Win |align=center|7"2 | Evan Tanner |KO (slam) |UFC 30 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|0:30 |New Jersey, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6"2 | Yuki Kondo |Submission (cobra choke) |UFC 29 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|1:51 |Tokyo, Japan | |- |Win |align=center|5"2 | Wanderlei Silva |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 25 |}} |align=center|5 |align=center|5:00 |Tokyo, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|4"2 | Frank Shamrock |Submission (punches) |UFC 22 |}} |align=center|4 |align=center|4:42 |Louisiana, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4"1 | Guy Mezger |TKO (punches) |UFC 19 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|9:56 |Mississippi, United States | |- |Win |align=center|3"1 | Jerry Bohlander |TKO (cut) |UFC 18 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|14:31 |Louisiana, United States | |- |Win |align=center|2"1 |Jeremy Screeton |Submission (knees) |NHB 1 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|0:16 |California, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|1"1 | Guy Mezger |Submission (guillotine choke) |UFC 13 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|3:00 |Georgia, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1"0 |Wes Albritton |TKO (punches) |UFC 13 |}} |align=center|1 |align=center|0:31 |Georgia, United States |

Books

• (2008) This is Gonna Hurt:The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion.

See also

• List of current UFC fighters

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