Mixed martial arts are by far the most popular martial arts in the world. The combination of wrestling and striking techniques generate genuine interest in such fights from the public. And like in any other sport, MMA also has its stars. One of such famous fighters is Tito Ortiz.
Birth and the first years of life
Future champion - Jacob Christopher Ortiz was born on January 23, 1975 in the state of California, the city of Santa Ana, USA. His father was Mexican and his mother was American. Tito Ortiz spent the pre-school period just like all ordinary children. As a matter of fact, his family was no different from the rest, except that his parents were hippies and often used marijuana, and later heroin. Unfortunately, this addiction was also transmitted to their young offspring. Tito, by his own admission, began to sniff glue, drink psychotropic substances. It seemed that his fate was a foregone conclusion.
Life fracture
Ortiz's mother decided to divorce when the guy was 13 years old. She was tired of vegetating and rolling downhill, and together with the children she moved to Hunting Beach, where Tito Ortiz is already studying in high school. It was during this period that he began his studies with the struggle that saved him from drugs. While playing sports, he was able to take fourth place in amateur wrestling competitions in the California Championship, and already while studying at college he became the first number at all.
Mixed fights
As a student, Tito Ortiz worked part-time as a security guard in nightlife establishments and as a wrestling coach. It was the last lesson that helped the guy get into the then-growing organization called UFC. An octagon veteran - Tank Abbot was in dire need of a sparring partner, and Ortiz was in the right place at the right time.
Tito made his debut in the “cage” relatively well. He managed to win the first fight by knockout, but the next to lose by a choke. This result motivates the fighter to train even harder, and after three years he wins the battle for the vacant Brazilian champion Wanderlei Silva. It is noteworthy, but Ortiz has always been a cocky guy who loved to shock the audience with his behavior. A striking example is his confrontation with Ken Shamrock, with whom Ortiz fought as many as three times.
On the top
The next three years, Tito Ortiz, whose biography is full of dramatic fights, holds his championship in the light heavyweight division and defeats such fighters as Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosik, Vladimir Matyushenko and Ken Shamrock. However, the situation changed when Ortiz came down in battle with Randy Couture already debited. As a result of the fight, Tito loses the title.
Recession period
At UFC-47, the whacky American is knocked out in the second round by Chuck Lidell. But already on the UFC-51, Ortiz defeats the Brazilian Belfort. However, this victory did not help Tito stay in the promotion. Due to his intransigence, he was forced to leave the organization and move to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
In the period 2007-2008, Tito conducts only two fights. In the first, a draw was declared (the opponent is Rashad Evans), and in the second, our hero lost to Lioto Machide. November 21, 2009 was the day of another defeat of Ortiz. This time, he could not defeat Forrest Griffin, losing him a separate decision of the judges.
September 20, 2015, after a rather long downtime, the former champion again tried to win the belt. This time at Bellator. Unfortunately, Tito Ortiz, whose battles are still gathering thousands of arenas of a roaring crowd of fans, was toughly lost. This time, the current leader of the division, the Englishman Liam McGuire. The defeat for the Bad guy came as a result of painful admission. Still, you can’t argue with age, and therefore, the legend of MMA should be thought about a well-deserved pension.
Personal life
Despite his rather shocking appearance and sometimes hooligan behavior in the “cage,” Ortiz in his spare time devotes himself to children, filming and all kinds of support for the younger generation. He founded a fund to help urban children. For his money, courtyards are equipped with sports fields. The former champion talks with teenagers on the topic of the greatest harm of drugs and shows by his own example that you can and even need to refuse them, and, despite any difficulties, confidently go towards your goal.
Ortiz's common-law wife is porn actress Jena Jameson. The couple met in 2006, already in 2009 they had two boys.
In addition, Tito Ortiz (films with him have long been available to viewers) starred in several film works and television series. His first film was From the Cradle to the Grave, which was released in 2003. In its genre, she was a crime thriller in which a famous athlete played a cameo role. Further in the piggy bank of Ortiz was work in the series "CSI: Crime Scene New York", "Numbers" and filming on the television show about professional fights. The last work at the moment for Tito can be considered the film "Burn in Hell."