- Tito Ortiz
MMAstatsbox|name=Tito Ortiz
nick=Huntington Beach Bad Boy
height=height|ft=6|in=2
weight=convert|205|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
nationality= American
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1975|month=1|day=23
died=
fightingfrom=Huntington Beach,California ,United States
hometown=Huntington Beach, California
fightteam=Team Punishment
fightstyle=Wrestling
wins=15
losses=6
draws=1
nocontest=0
ko=8
submissions=2|Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (born
January 23 ,1975 ) is a Mexican Americanmixed martial artist and formerUltimate Fighting Championship fighter fromHuntington Beach, California . As the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion fromApril 14 ,2000 toSeptember 26 ,2003 , [ [http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/FOXSportsMMA/2006/12/30/Light_heavyweight_title_Chuck_Liddell_vs_Tito_Ortiz Fox Sport report of title fight] ] Ortiz emerged as one of the sport's biggest stars, becoming the biggestpay-per-view draw of 2006 and appearing on the covers of various magazines. ["Since Ortiz's returned to the UFC this year, he has blossomed into 2006's hottest consistent ticket seller and buyrate draw in the pay-per-view business." cite web
title = The Iceman lets others handle the speculation
publisher =FOX Sports ,MSN
date =2006
url = http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/5890396
accessdate = 2007-03-27] Ortiz is the CEO of the Punishment Athletics clothing and mixed martial arts equipment line.Biography
Tito is the youngest of four sons born to a Mexican-American father and a white American mother, and his mixed heritage is reflected in his ring entrances as he bears both Mexican and American flags. [ [http://couchfighter.com/?cat=48 Couchfighter Interview] ] Ortiz has a son from his marriage to his ex-wife, Kristen. He is now dating former adult film actress,
Jenna Jameson , [http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-ortizqa1218,0,3366285.story?coll=bal-sports-headlines Interview with the Baltimore Sun] ] who is pregnant with twins. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426268,00.html] Ortiz began his martial arts career as a wrestler in his sophomore year of high school inHuntington Beach, California . Under coach Paul Herrera, Ortiz finished fourth in the state high school championships as a senior. Following high school, Ortiz continued his wrestling career, winning a California state junior college title forGolden West College . Following his stint at Golden West, Ortiz wrestled atCal State Bakersfield . Ortiz trained with futureNCAA , World, andSuper Bowl championStephen Neal . [ [http://www.titoortiz.com/bio.html Bio,] Tito Ortiz official website.] Tito has written a book called "THIS IS GONNA HURT - The Life of a Mixed Martial Artschampion". [http://www.titoortiz.com/n_read_more.php?IX=122]Mixed martial arts career
UFC
Ortiz's
mixed martial arts debut was at "UFC 13 " in1997 . Still in college, Ortiz competed as an amateur for no prize money or contracts. He beat Wes Albittron in an alternate bout by referee stoppage at 0:31 of the first round. He was selected to faceGuy Mezger in the Lightweight final afterEnson Inoune could not continue due to injury. Ortiz lost the fight at 2:00 in the first round by submission. After returning with TKO victories over Jeremy Screeton at "West Coast NHB Championships 1", andJerry Bohlander at "UFC 18 ", Tito avenged his loss to Mezger atUFC 19 by TKO in round 1.In
1999 Ortiz foughtFrank Shamrock for the UFC middleweight (205 lb) title at "UFC 22 ", losing via submission due to strikes. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the championship. The middleweight division was then renamed the light heavyweight division and Ortiz was chosen, along withWanderlei Silva , as a top contender.UFC champion
Ortiz defeated
Wanderlei Silva for the vacant light heavyweight title at "UFC 25 " via unanimous decision. He went on to defend the belt a record five times in the following three years, defeatingYuki Kondo ,Evan Tanner ,Elvis Sinosic ,Vladimir Matyushenko and Lion's Den headKen Shamrock .At "
UFC 44 ", after a near year-long layoff from the sport, Ortiz fought the new interim light heavyweight championRandy Couture , who had defeatedChuck Liddell for the interim title at "UFC 43 " in September2003 . 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 second round knockout. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over newcomer Patrick Côté at "UFC 50 ", and asplit decision overVitor Belfort at "UFC 51 ".In February
2005 , Ortiz took time away from the UFC and was offered deals with several promotions, includingPRIDE Fighting Championships and the Don King-backedWorld Fighting Alliance , but none came to fruition. Ortiz opted to try his hand atprofessional wrestling , signing withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling as a guest referee.Return to the UFC
In November
2005 ,Dana White announced that Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach "The Ultimate Fighter 3 "reality TV series onSpike TV , which premiered in April of2006 .Ortiz's first fight in his return occurred at "
UFC 59 " onApril 15 ,2006 against previous "The Ultimate Fighter 1 " winnerForrest Griffin . Ortiz won via split decision.His next fight was against Ken Shamrock at "
UFC 61 " onJuly 8 ,2006 , a match which was to conclude a main storyline in "The Ultimate Fighter 3 ". Ortiz won in the first round by TKO due to a stoppage by refereeHerb Dean due to strikes. Shamrock protested that the stoppage was early. OnAugust 25 ,2006 , at the "UFC 62 " weigh-ins, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock forOctober 10 ,2006 on Spike TV, as the main event of . Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to strikes.Ortiz's rematch with
Chuck Liddell (for theUFC Light Heavyweight championship) at "UFC 66 " (December 30 ,2006 ) ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the third round.He then fought against "
The Ultimate Fighter 2 " winnerRashad Evans onJuly 7 ,2007 at "UFC 73 ". The fight ended in a draw after Ortiz was penalized for grabbing the fence. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=8207 Monday Morning Reverie: True Champions ] ]Leaving the UFC
Ortiz' last fight on his contract with the UFC was an unanimous decision loss to
Lyoto Machida atUFC 84 onMay 24 ,2008 . The fight concluded Ortiz's stay with the promotion as he chose not to re-sign, citing his frustration with UFC-presidentDana White as a major factor in the decision. [ [http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6369&zoneid=1 - ORTIZ CONFIRMS HE WILL NOT RETURN TO UFC] ]MMA future
After leaving the UFC Ortiz has been approached by multiple promotions, including
EliteXC ,Affliction and theAmerican Fight League , but he has yet to sign a deal with any of them - and is still considered by some to be a free agent. He was shown on Saturday October 4th 2008, on , being interviewed.Wrestling career
Professional wrestling career
In
May 2005 , Ortiz agreed to appear with the professional wrestling promotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling .On
May 15 ,2005 at TNA Hard Justice Ortiz served as special guest referee in theNWA World Heavyweight Championship title match betweenJeff Jarrett andA.J. Styles at the behest of Director of Authority Dusty Rhodes. Ortiz (kayfabe ) knocked out Jeff Jarrett with a right hook after Jarrett shoved him. This allowed Styles to hit his "Spiral Tap" for thepinfall victory and claim the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from Jarrett.Ortiz returned to wrestling to referee an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match betweenJeff Jarrett and Rhino onOctober 23 ,2005 at theTNA Bound for Glory PPV.ubmission wrestling
Ortiz has also had fights as a
submission wrestler and in 2000 he competed in the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling tournament. He finished in third place after winning 4 fights and losing his semi-final match toRicardo Arona in a decision. During the tournament he defeated Matt Hughes,Mike van Arsdale ,Rumina Sato , and Rostyslav Borysenko. [ [http://www.titoortiz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11&Itemid=25 Tito Ortiz - Official Website ] ]Entrance music
T-shirts
After most of Ortiz' UFC fights, he wears a T-shirt that features a message. Below is a partial list of T-shirts he has worn in the past:
Mixed martial arts record
MMArecordbox
wins=15
losses=6
draws=1
ko-wins=8
ko-losses=2
dec-losses=2
sub-wins=2
sub-losses=2
dec-wins=5Championships and accomplishments
*;
Ultimate Fighting Championship
**UFC Light Heavyweight Champion*;
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
**2002 Feud of the Year (vs Ken Shamrock)
**2006 Feud of the Year (vs Ken Shamrock)*;FIGHTING SPIRIT magazine
**2006 Fight of The Year (vs Forrest Griffin, UFC 59)
**2006 Golden GlovesBooks
*(2008) "This is Gonna Hurt:The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion."
References
External links
* [http://www.titoortiz.com Official Tito Ortiz Website]
*sherdog|id=158
* [http://www.punishment.com/ Punishment Athletics]
*imdb name|id=0651274|name=Tito Ortiz
*Tito Ortiz [http://maxim.com/Titoortizinsixquestions/video/26371.aspx Interview -- June 2008]
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