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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 child. At the age of 13 his mother separated from his father and moved Tito and his brothers from Santa Ana back to Huntington Beach. 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).

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. 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.

In 1999 Ortiz fought Frank Shamrock for the UFC Middleweight (200 pound) title at UFC 22, losing 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 to get his title shot (a then rising star in the UFC and #1 light heavyweight contender), 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. Although many had felt Couture was near retirement, he controlled most of the bout, winning via unanimous decision.

Following his loss to Randy Couture, Ortiz finally faced Chuck Liddell at UFC 47. Ortiz lost in a one-sided match by second round knockout. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over 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:

|- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Opponent | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Event | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|T-Shirt Saying |- |Jerry Bohlander |UFC 18 |"I Just Fucked Your Ass" |- |Guy Mezger |UFC 19 |"Gay Mezger Is My Bitch" |- |Frank Shamrock |UFC 22 |Tito put on a Frank Shamrock t-shirt |- |Wanderlei Silva |UFC 25 |"I Just Killed The Axe Murderer" |- |Elvis Sinosic |UFC 32 |"That's American For Whoop Ass Mate" |- |Ken Shamrock |UFC 40 |"I Just Killed Kenny, You Bastard" |- |Patrick Côté |UFC 50 |"Who's Next" |- |Vitor Belfort |UFC 51 |"Bring Home Our Troops!" |- |Forrest Griffin |UFC 59 |"With Great Sacrifice Comes Great Rewards" |- |Ken Shamrock |UFC 61 |"If you fight Tito Ortiz You Lose" |- |Ken Shamrock |Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter |"Punishing Him Into Retirement" |-

• TitoOrtiz.com. Retrieved July 20, 2006.

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 to 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 a 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. Ortiz also publicly confirmed that he signed a three-fight deal with the UFC which included a three-round boxing sparring session with Dana White. 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. [1]

Ortiz's first fight under the new deal occurred at UFC 59 on April 15 2006 against previous The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Forrest Griffin, which Tito won by split decision. 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. On August 25th 2006, at the UFC 62 weigh in, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for October 10th, 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 Ortiz applying multiple undefended strikes to Shamrocks head.

Tito's next fight is against Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship at UFC 66 on December 30th[2].

Recently, on October 10th, 2006, Tito announced that on October 20th 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. [3].

Miscellaneous

• Ortiz has had roles in several feature films, most notably Cradle 2 the Grave and the controversial Turkish film Valley of the Wolves: Iraq.
• Ortiz has two tattoos, one on each triceps. On his left triceps is an 'H' and on the right is a 'B' which stands for Huntington Beach.
• He is also noted for his dyed blond hair (his natural hair color is brown).
• Ortiz was married, but has since divorced. He has one child, a son, Jacob Ortiz Jr.
• He runs his own clothing line called Punishment Athletics.
• Tito's most recent UFC entrance theme is 'Mosh' by Eminem.
• Currently has a monthly column in Skinnie Magazine.
• Currently dates former pornographic superstar Jenna Jameson.

Mixed martial arts record

|- |style="text-align: center" colspan=8|16 Wins (7 Technical Knockouts, 2 Submissions, 5 Decisions, 1 Knockouts) - 4 Losses (2 Submissions, 1 Decision, 1 Knockout) - 0 Draws |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Date | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Result | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Opponent | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Event | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Method | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Round | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Time | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|Notes |- |12/30/2006 |TBA |Chuck Liddell |UFC 66: Liddell Vs. Ortiz II |TBA |TBA |TBA |This match has yet to occur, it will take place in the MGM Grand Garden Arena at Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30th. |- |10/10/2006 |Win |Ken Shamrock |Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter |TKO (Strikes) |1 |2:23 |All participating "Team Punishment" members won their fights including: Matt Hamill and Kendall Grove |- |07/08/2006 |Win |Ken Shamrock |UFC 61 - Bitter Rivals |TKO (Strikes) |1 |1:18 | |- |04/15/2006 |Win |Forrest Griffin |UFC 59 - Reality Check |Decision (Split) |3 |5:00 | |- |02/06/2005 |Win |Vitor Belfort |UFC 51 - Super Saturday |Decision (Split) |3 |5:00 | |- |10/22/2004 |Win |Patrick Cote |UFC 50 - The War of '04 |Decision (Unanimous) |3 |5:00 | |- |04/02/2004 |Loss |Chuck Liddell |UFC 47 - It's On |KO (Punches) |2 |0:38 | |- |09/26/2003 |Loss |Randy Couture |UFC 44 - Undisputed |Decision (Unanimous) |5 |5:00 |Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Title |- |11/22/2002 |Win |Ken Shamrock |UFC 40 - Vendetta |TKO (Corner Stoppage) |3 |5:00 | |- |09/28/2001 |Win |Vladimir Matyushenko |UFC 33 - Victory in Vegas |Decision (Unanimous) |5 |5:00 | |- |06/29/2001 |Win |Elvis Sinosic |UFC 32 - Showdown in the Meadowlands |TKO (Cut) |1 |3:32 | |- |02/23/2001 |Win |Evan Tanner |UFC 30 - Battle on the Boardwalk |KO (Slam) |1 |0:30 | |- |12/16/2000 |Win |Yuki Kondo |UFC 29 - Defense of the Belts |Submission (Neck Crank) |1 |1:51 | |- |04/14/2000 |Win |Wanderlei Silva |UFC 25 - Ultimate Japan 3 |Decision |5 |5:00 |Won UFC Middleweight Title |- |09/24/1999 |Loss |Frank Shamrock |UFC 22 - There Can Be Only One Champion |Submission (Strikes) |4 |4:42 |Match was for the UFC Middleweight Title |- |03/05/1999 |Win |Guy Mezger |UFC 19 - Ultimate Young Guns |TKO (Strikes) |1 |9:56 | |- |01/08/1999 |Win |Jerry Bohlander |UFC 18 - Road to the Heavyweight Title |TKO (Strikes) |1 |14:31 | |- |12/08/1998 |Win |Jeremy Screeton |WCNHBC - West Coast NHB Championships 1 |Submission (Strikes) |1 |0:16 | |- |05/30/1997 |Loss |Guy Mezger |UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force |Submission (Guillotine Choke) |1 |3:00 | |- |05/30/1997 |Win |Wes Albritton |UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force |TKO (Strikes) |1 |0:31 | |-

• 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)

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Official Tito Ortiz Website
• Punishment Athletics
• Freedom Fight Productions Freedom Fight Production

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