Issue 095

December 2012

It was a moment in which Tito Ortiz showed the end of a journey. A rite of passage, if you like. Back in July, two days before he was due to face Forrest Griffin, before throwing his gymbag over his shoulder for the last time and setting out into the fight retirement wilderness, he completed his workout at the XS inside Encore in Las Vegas. 

Gareth A Davies

MMA and Boxing Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, London

As he packed his kit away, he eyed a young man below the stage, with Down’s Syndrome. His name was Garrett. He’s in his 20s, has the same platinum-haired look as Tito, and idolizes him. Tito gestured him over. You could be forgiven for thinking Tito saw a PR moment. He has long been a master of the sound bite and the photo call. But this was different. 

It was Tito recognizing a dream. Garrett wants to fight, and there is a campaign in his name to find a way of the young man competing at MMA in a public arena. Tito listened, had his photo taken with Garrett, and offered advice. They exchanged contact details. They talked for some time. Don’t be surprised if Garrett’s dream – to have coaching sessions with the UFC Hall of Fame legend - is realized. 

It said so much about Ortiz. About the man, in fact, rather than the fighter. He is loved because of those days of belligerence as a fighter. Yet that transformation from ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,’ at the start of his career, to the ‘People’s Champion’ is significant.

Yes, his body has finally had enough. He has recognized age and injury have made a pact with Father Time. But it is a sign of maturity, and completed his rite of passage to manhood, fatherhood and, indeed, the relinquishing of the adoration he craved from fans which was arguably once a replacement for the love he sought from his father. A love he never knew. What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger…?

Possibly. But the arrogance of his early years, and who couldn’t either love or hate it, has been replaced by a charming humor. His UFC debut was 15 years ago. Incredible, really. Ortiz admits that he has learned – perhaps the hard way, because there is no forgiveness in fight sports for age and injury – that from great sacrifice, comes great reward. He has sacrificed body and mind to the cause. He has joined the greats: Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock.

My issue is that the UFC needs role models at both the start and end of their careers. Mark Coleman is nowhere to be seen. Ortiz would be a great spokesperson for the UFC, regardless of the beef between Dana White and the man who once slammed people and then pounded them like a chef tossing a salad. It could just be business. Not a Chuck Liddell-style ambassadorial role. Ortiz could be the testament to how the sport changes lives. Almost always for the better. 

As he says: “My father was never there because of drugs. I want to be there for my son. I’ve done part of my job. Latinos aren’t supposed to be where I am now, and I hope I have shown the way. I had three choices: dead, prison or where I am now.”

He assuages wisdom. 

“We get paid to train; we fight for free.” That is so true. Ortiz would be a perfect mouthpiece for throwing pebbles onto the pond and creating ripples. He’s learned some valuable life lessons. The greatest, he says, is that, “negativity will consume you.”

Tito adds: “I’ve gone through a lot to change to the people’s champion. To get through adversity was a big thing for me in my life. I hope I’ve shown what hard work and dedication can achieve and shown my children that their father is a true champion.”

Ortiz also acknowledged working with media had been a good experience. My two cents worth is that Tito has always had a nous and natural understanding that the media needs to tell a story. Having worked with him once or twice on TV shows, I must add that he has a great sense of the bigger picture.

He’s a role model, as I perceive him, and he deserves every word of credit he receives. We all grow older, and wiser. The lesson he perhaps learned too late was not to fall out with the hierarchy on grounds of stubbornness. From a young age, the UFC was like his family. If the sport is to grow, and its graduates are to deliver their return in real terms, it’s time for that family to embrace him again, and bring him into the fold.