Issue 091
August 2012
TITO ORTIZ VS EVAN TANNER
Tito Ortiz was Zuffa’s first dominant UFC champion, and his title run of 2001 will forever be remembered as the year of ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’
Referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy’s trademark “let’s get it on” call to arms rings around the Trump Taj Mahal and the fighters contesting the 205lb title step forward. The champion, Tito Ortiz, starts nervously. He’s on his toes circling. This was a big night for ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.’ He had stormed the Ultimate Fighting Championship and become a fan favorite, but still questions remained. Ortiz had gone into his first title challenge as a hot favorite, only to be outlasted down the stretch by Frank Shamrock in a classic at UFC 22. And even though he had subsequently won and defended the belt, there were many who doubted his ability to come through against top-class opposition.
Evan Tanner was a worthy number-one contender. He had clocked up 23 wins and had finished each of his three UFC fights in the first round. Ortiz was the name, the guy on all the posters around Atlantic City, but Tanner was a genuine threat. The Texan was known as a thinker. The smart money was on him coming up with a game plan to stifle the explosive Ortiz attack and get the win.
UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk, on February 23rd 2001, was also the first event under the banner of Zuffa; a company backed by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta of Station Casinos and fronted by former fighter manager Dana White. The new owners were keen to push the UFC brand forward, to distance themselves from the excesses of the early days and establish MMA as bona fide sport. They wanted fighters who could walk the walk as well as talk the talk, wear the T-shirt and wave the flag.
After exchanging kicks, the combatants clinched up near the fence. Ortiz got off a knee and a couple of punches then managed to secure double underhooks. From there, he produced a moment of brilliance. He lifted Tanner off his feet and slammed him to the ground. Tanner landed flat on his back and head. Any resistance disappeared as he lay blankly staring up at the lights, motionless apart from his limp arms swaying in time to the two punches Tito landed to seal the deal. McCarthy dived in to rescue the unconscious challenger, sparking the now familiar celebrations. Ortiz fired his imaginary guns, mimed digging the grave then scaled the Octagon to milk the acclaim of his adoring public, who also responded knowing full well that the dawn of a new age of champion had arrived.
With his reputation enhanced, the sky was the limit for Ortiz. He made three more defenses of his belt, including his grudge match with Ken Shamrock at UFC 40. That fight is seen as a key milestone in the development of the MMA business, possibly second only to the Bonnar-Griffin TUF 1 Finale in terms of significance. It caught the imagination of the fans and did huge numbers on pay-per-view.
Both men were great on the microphone, but the boost that the 32-second destruction of Tanner gave to Ortiz’s resume was equally important. Every promo in the build-up had the UFC 30 footage front and center to remind fans of the potential for carnage in this fresh and exciting sport. Age has not withered its potency. The UFC recently revamped the title sequence for live events, with Ortiz slamming Tanner as the second slice of action in the montage representing the evolution of the sport.
Evan Tanner went on to have a successful UFC career and eventually became a champion, picking up the 185lb belt with a TKO win over David Terrell at UFC 51 in February 2005. He too became a fan favorite due to his alternative lifestyle: he turned his back on corporate sponsorship and worked to set up a charitable foundation. Unfortunately, he also had problems with alcohol and stories of idiosyncratic behavior began to surface – such as him sinking his 30ft sailing boat out at sea. On September 3rd 2008, the free spirit headed out into the Californian desert on an adventure. Five days later, his body was found, with heat exposure recorded as the cause of death.
After six successful title defenses, Ortiz eventually met his match at UFC 44. Randy Couture didn’t just beat him, he humiliated him, by spanking him like a naughty little boy on his way to a unanimous decision victory. This fight polarized opinion on The Huntington Beach Bad Boy. A sizeable number of haters point to it as proof Ortiz was always a punk with a big mouth who could not live with the genuine elite. While Tito supporters counter this argument by talking up his close run matches against future champs Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans. Whichever camp you are in, it is impossible to deny that Tito Ortiz has been one of the biggest draws in the history of the UFC.
