A loser of three straight matches and not winning a fight since 2006, Tito Ortiz’s future in the UFC and possibly MMA period was on the line at UFC 132. With his back against the wall, The Huntington Beach Bad Boy came through, submitting TUF season 8 winner Ryan “Darth” Bader just 1:56 into their fight. The win allowed Ortiz to break out the “Grave Digger” for the first time since beating Ken Shamrock back on October 10th 2006, in their 3rd match of their trilogy.

With talks about Tito Ortiz retiring should he lose to Bader, Ortiz rocked Bader with a right hand, before grabbing a hold of the former Arizona State wrestling stand-outs neck and locking in a tight arm in Guillotine choke, forcing the tap and giving Ortiz a much-needed victory.

With the personal issues in Tito’s life in dealing with his wife Jenna Jamison and the numerous injuries, Ortiz had a rough start in his return to the UFC after leaving back in 2008 after his loss to Lyoto Machida. Upon returning, Ortiz dropping a split decision to Forrest Griffin, then dropping another decision to Matt Hamill, his first overall pick on The Ultimate Fighter season 3.

Despite the losses, UFC President Dana White kept Tito Ortiz in the UFC, giving him the possible final shot against Bader. With the win, Ortiz improved his overall record to 16-8, with all but two fights coming inside The Octagon. The real question coming off the win is, could another run be in the making for Ortiz? Tito Ortiz dominated the Light Heavyweight scene in the early days of the UFC, defending the Light Heavyweight Championship five straight times before dropping the strap to Randy Couture.

Ortiz hasn’t swayed from his hard work ethic, and despite the losses, his confidence never swayed away from working his way back to the top of the UFC Light Heavyweight division. While one win won’t get him there, a confident Tito could still cause some waves in the UFC, especially when Tito is completely healthy. But at the age of 36, how much more does Tito have in the tank and can he still make another run this late in his career.

If you ask anyone other than Tito, doubts would be cast as too how much a guy who has been in the fight game since 1997 has left in him. Tito signed a 6 fight contract when he returned to the promotion that made him a house hold name, and with a possibility of at least three more fights left on the current deal, should Tito continue the streak, we could possibly see Tito involving himself in the mix at 205, where guys like Shogun, Rampage, Rashad and current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones could await him.

While the possibility is in fact there, even with the win, Ortiz does have a good hill to climb in order to get back into the mix for another shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.