Tito Ortiz decides to retire after two bouts – UFC News
The 36-year old former title-holder at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Tito Ortiz, has expressed his thoughts about retiring from the sport. The mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who started his professional MMA career
in 1997, have decided to hang his shorts after competing in two more bouts. His second-last bout would be against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 on December 10, 2011. Ortiz has been with the UFC on a contract for over a decade.
Talking to the media, Ortiz said, “I guess when I leave on my own terms…my goal in my whole career was to do 15 years in MMA. May 30 will be my 15th year of fighting in the UFC and in MMA, in general...This'll be fight No. 26 for
me, I think. So, I'll have 27 and walk away. I think I've done good.”
Ortiz won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in April 2000 at UFC 25 by defeating Wanderlei Silva. He successfully defended his titles five times. He defended it in December 2000 at UFC 29 against Yuki Kondo, in February 2001
at UFC 30 against Evan Tanner, in June 2001 at UFC 32 against Elvis Sinosic, in September 2001 at UFC 33 against Vladimir Matyushenko and in November 2002 at UFC 40 against Ken Shamrock. With five consecutive title defenses, he made the record for the only
fighter in the UFC to have defended a Light Heavyweight title five times in a career.
His bout at UFC 40 against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira would be his twenty-seventh bout with the UFC. For the past seven fights, Ortiz has had a bad run. He was able to win only a single bout in seven attempts from December 2006 to
August 2011. At UFC 66 in December 2006, he lost to Chuck Liddell followed by his defeats to Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and Matt Hamill. He won his bout at UFC 132 in July 2011 against Ryan Bader in the first round but could not keep a winning momentum
and lost to Rashad Evans at UFC 133 in August 2011.
Ortiz has been one of the most successful fighters in the UFC with his title defenses and great run in non-title matches. For Ortiz, fighting in the UFC octagon was what he ever wanted. Now with his age entering into the late thirties,
he has finally decided to go towards the end of his MMA career.
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