The Ground and Pound 03.09.06: The Rise and Fall of Tito Ortiz Part Two
Posted by S. Hernandez on 03.09.2006
Tito Ortiz was the king of the mountain. But money, injuries, and insecurities forced him from top and eventually into exile. The second of a two-part look at the career of "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy."
Part Two: To All Good Things…
Tito Ortiz had just headlined UFC 40, the biggest event in the company's history. In the main event, he easily dispatched of long-time rival Ken Shamrock and added another successful title defense to his already-long résumé.
But within two and a half years, he was gone from the company.
How did it come to that point? Why would Tito Ortiz leave the company that made him famous and why would the UFC let their poster boy walk away?
Money and Chuck Liddell, in that order.
After UFC 40, Ortiz and the UFC became embroiled in contract negotiations. Despite having four fights left on a contract worth up to $640,000, Ortiz wanted more money. This put the UFC in a tough spot. They could either sit around listening to Ortiz's demands or they could strip Ortiz of the title and sue him for breach of contract.
Sue their golden boy? Would they really do that?
No, they wouldn't. And so what followed was almost a year of negotiations, demands, and false starts.
Ortiz made no bones about wanting more money. He openly admitted he felt he was worth more than he was being paid. There was, also, the matter of his "injuries." I have never personally seen, heard, or read any evidence that fully supports Ortiz's claim that he was physically unfit to fight during this time. Either way, the UFC seemed to cater to Ortiz's every whim as he treated the organization like his personal playground.
Chuck Liddell, a fan favorite and the undisputed number one contender (he defeated Vitor Belfort for a shot at the title and actually put the title shot on the line against Renato Sobral at UFC 40) was waiting in the wings but on top of Ortiz's monetary demands and "injuries", he flat-out refused to fight Chuck Liddell. Ortiz said they were friends and had once agreed to never fight one another.
Chuck Liddell didn't recall that conversation.
Pop quiz, hotshot: you have a number one contender whose KO-friendly style has won the fans over and a champion who refuses to fight. What do you do?
If you're the UFC, you ask former Heavyweight champion Randy Couture to drop down in weight to fight Liddell for the Interim Light Heavyweight title. So at UFC 43, complete with a ridiculous intro video, Liddell walked down the ramp to finally take what was his.
At least, that was the plan. Randy Couture had other plans.
Liddell was completely dominated and Couture won the upset at UFC 43. Suddenly and miraculously, Ortiz came to an agreement with UFC management and agreed to unify the titles at UFC 44 against Couture.
Why the sudden change of heart? Well, my guess is Ortiz was afraid of being knocked out by Liddell and instead jumped at the chance of fighting another wrestler who was over 10 years older. That's my guess.
After a year of hiding behind agents, Ortiz became the cocky trash-talker everyone loved to hate. He told everyone who would listen that he wouldn't let an "old man" beat him. Couture again surprised everyone by manhandling the younger Ortiz for 25 minutes on route to a unanimous decision win.
Ortiz lost the belt. He lost his bargaining chip. And the only way back to it was through Chuck Liddell. And there was no getting around him. Remember what I said about Ortiz being afraid of getting knocked out by Liddell? Well, it seems Ortiz had plenty to fear because at UFC 47, that's exactly what happened.
Ortiz, once on top of the Light Heavyweight division, was now regulated to #3. Ortiz was now out of the title hunt but still had two fights left on his contract. The UFC pitted him against Guy Mezger at UFC 50 in a rubber match five years in the making. The main event drew little buzz compared to the much better undercard. However, a week before the event, Guy Mezger suffered stroke-like symptoms, which, to this day, put his career in jeopardy. A last minute replacement was found in young Canadian Patrick Cote and a seemingly lackluster main event was made even more so. What's worse is that Ortiz, who by all intents and purposes should have steamrolled Cote instead won by decision. An uninspired split decision victory over Belfort at UFC 51 only cemented the fact that Tito Ortiz's time had seemingly come and gone.
His contract now up, Ortiz was the center of countless rumors. Would he sign with Japanese rival Pride FC? Does he really want $300,000 a fight? Will we ever see him in the UFC again? The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. The Ultimate Fighter reality show began to pick up steam and became a bonafide hit, the UFC presented their first-ever live fight card on free TV, and stars were made out of Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Rich Franklin among others.
All without Tito Ortiz.
To all goods things must come an end.
Epilogue
Although it seemed like displeasure at the time, my internet service was down due right before UFC 56. I didn't have access to the last minute news that was breaking before the event. I consider myself somewhat lucky because when Tito Ortiz was announced as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 3 during the broadcast, I just about went crazy. The prodigal son had returned. With a sold-out main event fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 59, a rematch with Ken Shamrock and a potential title shot down the line, I may end up adding a third entry to this story: The Redemption of Tito Ortiz.
