Tito Ortiz, The Huntington Beach Not-So-Bad Boy
Tito Ortiz has always been a talker. The once great UFC Champion built his reputation on talking a big game and backing it up in the octagon. Ortiz has never been discriminatory about who he looks to start a feud with. This includes his former UFC boss, Dana White. As late as 2014, a full two years after his last match in the UFC, Ortiz was still hurling insults..
Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. However, after coming out of retirement to sign with his current promotion Bellator, Ortiz made an unprovoked verbal attack against the promotion that made him famous.
“UFC, take me off your list. Take me off your Hall of Fame.”
Tito Ortiz’s past, as well as his mouth, landed him a ticket to fight Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Liam McGeary. Tito didn’t have to go through the proper channels that most Bellator fighters must go through to get a shot at the title. In fact, he was even paid more than the champion himself. According to Yahoo Sports, Ortiz made $300,000 for the McGeary fight. That is $50,000 more than the champion.
In typical Tito fashion, the former champion made the public believe they were really in for a show. According to the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” he feels better at 41 years old than he did at 31. Considering the fact that Ortiz tapped out almost instantly as soon as McGeary applied the inverted triangle submission, it makes a fan wonder if he meant it.
Tito stayed true to form even after the fight. Instead of McGeary getting the spotlight, Ortiz took the champ’s moment in the sun to discuss the fight. Now, the question seems to be, where does Tito go from here? And does he have what it takes to compete at the top level of MMA? Will he now be relegated to a side show much like Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice have been?
According to an MMA Fighting report, Ortiz may be sitting out six months due to a medical suspension. In the meantime, it is a given you will most likely be hearing something from Tito. He could turn his attention again to Dana White, or he may pick back up his onslaught against Ronda Rousey. Either way, he will refuse to step away from the spotlight until people finally refuse to listen.
What do you think of Tito Ortiz? Does he have what it takes to continue fighting, or do you think he’s all washed up?
[Photo by Spike]
