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 was February 16th, 1996. The UFC was on the cusp of major reactionary law-making that would plunge the sport into the underground for years, though this was largely lost on me. Just your average everyday fight fan, I settled down in front of my Grandmother’s awesome projection TV with friends and family for our latest cage fight fix with UFC 8. We were ready to feast on the craziest concept to hit the UFC since……I guess the entire thing was still crazy at that point. The event was titled “David vs. Goliath” and while there were never any weight classes to begin with, the UFC was determined to throw that in our faces HARD.
Most of the trash talk you hear seep from the lips of MMA fighters is little more than marketing tactics used to draw the attention of the general public. But every now and then, bad blood does indeed boil between two professional fighters, and when it does, you know things are going to get exiting, violent, and likely bloody.
There comes a time when it’s not just wise, but mandatory for a professional fighter to call it quits. MMA is a dangerous sport that tends to produce concussions, broken bones, dislocated limbs and in a very select few instances, even more. There’s no reason to loiter with the lions if your ability to defend yourself has all but disappeared.
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.
Ken Shamrock was forced off the card when he came down with MRSA while taking care of his son who also has staph.
Ok, let’s all disregard the obvious question here, which is, WHY Royce Gracie should fight at UFC Rio. This isn’t like baseball where the old times can come in, throw out the ceremonial first pitch and then wave to fans as he steps off the mound and into immortality. This is a sport, where your opponent tries to render you either unconscious or unable to defend yourself. He knows this and still wants to fight, so the question isn’t why should Royce fight, I guess, it’s who should Royce Fight.
Last night was a delightfully exciting big name Mixed Martial Arts Card taking place in Sydney Australia with many well know Pride, UFC, and Dream veterans.
