Tito Ortiz is a lot of things. He’s brash, cocky, determined, a champion, an icon and now, going into UFC 148, a UFC Hall of Famer. From flipping Shamrock the bird, to Tito is in the house, to Dana is my Bitch, Tito has run the gamut of UFC emotions and realities during his 15 year tenure with the UFC. As that tenure comes to a close, let’s look back at the polarizing moments that made you love Tito Ortiz, and others love to hate him.
It’s amazing how fast time flies. It doesn’t seem that long ago when we watched the quirky Diego Sanchez on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Sanchez would go on to finals of the Middleweight tournament and pound Kenny Florian en route to a TKO victory. Since then Sanchez has managed to keep himself relevant in the UFC but not without having to face adversity.
The 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter ends tonight with the final two semifinal bouts in the first season to feature bantamweights and featherweights. For only the second time in series history the coaches will square off at the finale this Saturday alongside their fighters.
A month ago, we all saw Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (31-18-5) take his career into his own hands and announce his retirement before his bout with Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy (23-10-1). He stated that regardless of the outcome, he was going to walk away from MMA on his own terms. Fortunately for Lytle, he picked up the victory over Hardy and was able to ride into the sunset on a positive note. Last weekend, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (46-9) took a page out of Lytle’s book and hinted that his bout with Koscheck at UFC 135 could be his last.
Saturday’s UFC 135 from Denver, Colorado saw 20 fighters put it all on the line to enter the Octagon. Today the Colorado Office of Boxing issued its medical suspensions for UFC 135 that included the light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, along with 11 others.
UFC 135 packed the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado for a 10 bout fight card that was headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Quinton “rampage” Jackson. Returning to the home of first two UFC events, the 135th (184th overall) event saw a broken jaw, a sleepy zombie, a Hall of Famer potentially fight for the last time and a champion has his “special day” ruined again.
Two time welterweight champion, NCAA division 1 wrestler, UFC hall of fame inductee, holding the most wins inside the UFC at eighteen, Matt Hughes goes into UFC 135 this Saturday night in what could very well be his last match. Since his victory over former rival Matt Serra, the question has loomed – how many fights were left in him?
Remember back when you were a kid and is it got closer to Christmas time and the anticipation would build up for the most awesome time of year? Get ready to feel that way again, starting this weekend as MMA is swinging into full tilt season of promising fights and championship bouts that will have fans eagerly watching and cheering until 2012.
