Issue 095
December 2012
We dig deep into the world of ‘The People’s Champ’ and reveal 10 things about the Hall of Famer you probably never knew
1. My name is...
Although he’s known across the world as Tito Ortiz, you may be surprised to know that’s not the former UFC light heavyweight champion’s birth name. His real name is Jacob Christopher Ortiz, and his nickname ‘Tito’ (which means ‘tyrant’ in Spanish) was given to him by his father.
2. PPV king
When it comes to making money in the world of MMA, Tito is amongst the most prolific pay-per-view draws to grace the sport. Available records suggest UFC fight cards he’s been involved in have been bought 7,298,000 times on pay-per-view, with his fight against Chuck Liddell at UFC 66 pulling an incredible 1,050,000 buys.
3. Neck surgery
We’ve all heard how horrific Tito Ortiz’s neck surgeries have been and it’s quite obvious they’ve taken years off of his illustrious career. However, did you know there is a video on YouTube of Ortiz having the surgery performed? It’s certainly not for the faint hearted...
4. Surpassing your mentor
Ever heard of Paul Herrera? Probably not, but you’ll remember him famously getting blasted by Gary Goodridge’s elbows from the back crucifix at UFC 8. What you probably don’t know is Herrera was Tito Ortiz’s sophomore wrestling coach and one of the people who got Ortiz into MMA.
5. Name that film
If you thought you’d seen Tito Ortiz in other places besides from the bright lights of the UFC, but can’t really place it, then we promise you, you’re not crazy. Ortiz has actually starred in a few films including Cradle 2 the Grave, The Crow: Wicked Prayer and the as-bizarre-as-it-sounds Zombie Strippers.
6. Amateur wrestler to professional wrestler
Ortiz is known for cutting outstanding promos about his opponents, so it’s no surprise he’s a bit of a professional wrestling fan. So much so, Ortiz has made a handful of appearances with TNA Wrestling as a special guest referee.
7. Own a piece of history
In the Tito Ortiz issue of our sister magazine Train Hard Fight Easy, you saw pictures of the man’s amazing retreat in Big Bear, which was once owned by boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya. Well, if you’re a big fan of Ortiz, and have a few dollars stored away, you can purchase the legendary pad. It’ll set you back something around $2 million though...
8. Bully beatdown
Before he was picking up his opponents and slamming them down to the ground, Tito was actually bullied during school. Ortiz claimed the kids would ‘always talk smack about me’ and that he had no choice but to fight them. It would be pretty interesting if they met him now though...
9. Big baby
In his autobiography This Is Gonna Hurt, Tito reveals there were clues he was heading toward being a big 205lb light heavyweight from the moment he was born. Ortiz weighed a massive 11lb 8oz. The average baby born in the United States today tips the scales at 7lb.
10. Eminem's biggest fan
Prior to a Tito Ortiz fight you know two things will happen. Someone is going to get taken down and punched in the face repeatedly, and Ortiz is going to walk out to an Eminem track. Probably the biggest Eminem fan in MMA, Ortiz actually wanted the Detroit hip-hop legend to strut out with him before his last fight. Sadly that didn’t happen, but what a moment that would’ve made for.
