Editing Tito Ortiz (section)

=== Ultimate Fighting Championship ===
Ortiz's [[mixed martial arts]] debut was at ''[[UFC 13]]'' in 1997. Still in college, Ortiz competed as an amateur for no prize money or contracts. He beat Wes Albritton in an alternate bout by referee stoppage at 0:31 of the first round. He was selected to face [[Guy Mezger]] in the [[Light Heavyweight (MMA)|Light Heavyweight]] final after [[Enson Inoue]] could not continue due to injury. Despite dominating Mezger at first, Ortiz lost the fight at 2:00 in the first round by a [[guillotine choke]] submission. After returning with a [[Technical Knockout|TKO]] victory over Jeremy Screeton at ''West Coast NHB Championships 1'', Ortiz fought top ranked fighter and [[List of UFC champions#Tournament winners|UFC 12 Light Heavyweight Tournament Champion]] [[Jerry Bohlander]] at ''[[UFC 18]]''. Ortiz dominated the fight and won via TKO due to cut stoppage. Ortiz then avenged his loss to Mezger at [[UFC 19]] by TKO. Ortiz's post fight antics towards Mezger and the [[Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)|Lion's Den]] led to his long-running rivalry with the team's leader [[Ken Shamrock]].

Ortiz has credited [[UFC Heavyweight Championship|UFC Heavyweight Champion]] [[Bas Rutten]] for inspiration during his early days. Ortiz said; ''"I looked up to Bas Rutten. Bas was my idol. People were just so scared of fighting him, he was like the man. I thought that was what I need to do now. If I train as hard as he does then one day I'll be as good as him and two years later look where I am, I'm on top of the world. I've got to say thanks to him, (Bas) for helping me out by making me believe in dreams."''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sfuk.tripod.com/interviews_01/tito_interview2.html |title=UFC Middleweight Champion Tito Ortiz Interview Part 2|publisher=SFUK Articles and Interviews |date=May 1, 2001 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429132504/http://sfuk.tripod.com/interviews_01/tito_interview2.html |archive-date=April 29, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1999, Ortiz fought [[Frank Shamrock]] for what is now known as the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at ''[[UFC 22]]''. Despite controlling Shamrock for the majority of the fight, Ortiz ended up losing via submission due to strikes. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the championship. The [[Middleweight (MMA)|Middleweight]] division was then officially renamed the [[Light Heavyweight (MMA)|Light Heavyweight]] (205&nbsp;lb) division and Ortiz was chosen, along with [[Wanderlei Silva]], as a top contender. Ortiz defeated Silva for the vacant Light Heavyweight Championship at ''[[UFC 25]]'' via unanimous decision. He went on to defend the Light Heavyweight Championship a then-record five times in the following three years, defeating [[Yuki Kondo]], [[Evan Tanner]], [[Elvis Sinosic]], [[Vladimir Matyushenko]] and Lion's Den head [[Ken Shamrock]].

At ''[[UFC 44]]'', after a near year-long layoff from the sport, Ortiz fought the new Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, who had defeated [[Chuck Liddell]] for the interim title at ''[[UFC 43]]'' in September 2003. Couture defeated Ortiz via unanimous decision. The loss ended Ortiz's near three-and-a-half-year title reign, which was the longest Light Heavyweight Championship reign until [[Jon Jones]] successfully defended the [[UFC Light Heavyweight Championship|Light Heavyweight Championship]] for the sixth time on September 21, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma--ufc-165-jon-jones-alexander-gustafsson-050257025.html|title=UFC 165: Jon Jones survives five-round battle, beats Alexander Gustafsson via unanimous decision|date=September 22, 2013|work=Yahoo Sports|access-date=July 12, 2015}}</ref><ref>[[UFC Light Heavyweight Championship#Light Heavyweight Championship]]</ref> Following his loss to Couture, Ortiz faced Chuck Liddell at ''[[UFC 47]]'', losing by [[Technical knockout|TKO]] in the second round. After six months off, Ortiz returned and took a unanimous decision victory over newcomer [[Patrick Côté (fighter)|Patrick Côté]] at ''[[UFC 50]]'' and a [[split decision]] over [[Vitor Belfort]] at ''[[UFC 51]]''.

In February 2005, Ortiz took time away from the UFC and was offered deals with several promotions, including [[PRIDE Fighting Championships]] and the [[Don King (boxing promoter)|Don King]]-backed [[World Fighting Alliance]]. Ortiz and fellow fighter [[Fabiano Iha]] even hired investment banker Stan Medley to take a new league, The Xtreme Fighting Championship, public. But none of these endeavors came to fruition. Ortiz opted to try his hand at professional wrestling, signing with [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] as a guest referee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wrestlingjournal.netfirms.com/wj200504.html |title=Wrestling Journal 2.4.1 (April 2005) |work=Wrestlingjournal.netfirms.com |date=April 2005 |access-date=January 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090201140011/http://wrestlingjournal.netfirms.com/wj200504.html |archive-date=February 1, 2009 }}</ref>

In November 2005, UFC president [[Dana White]] announced Ortiz and Ken Shamrock would coach ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 3]]'' reality TV series on [[Spike TV]], which premiered in April 2006. Ortiz's first fight in his return occurred at ''[[UFC 59]]'' on April 15, 2006, against previous ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 1]]'' winner [[Forrest Griffin]]. Ortiz won via split decision (30–27, 28–29, and 29–27). This fight earned him his first ''[[List of UFC bonus award recipients|Fight of the Night]]'' award.<ref name="UFC59">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mmascene.com/ufc/events/ufc-59-fight-card/|title=UFC 59 Fight Card – Main Card & Prelims Lineup|publisher=mmascene.com|author=MMAscene Team|date=2006-04-16|access-date=2025-01-18}}</ref>

His next fight was against UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock at ''[[UFC 61]]'' on July 8, 2006, a match which was to conclude a main rivalry on ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 3]]''. Shamrock lost in the first round by TKO due to strikes (elbows) by Ortiz.This fight earned him another ''[[List of UFC bonus award recipients|Fight of the Night]]'' award.<ref name="UFC61">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bjpenn.com/ufcnews/100-ufcs-ago-revisiting-ufc-66-liddell-vs-ortiz-ii/|title=100 UFCs Ago - Revisiting UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz II|publisher=mmascene.com|author=BJ Penn Dot Com|date=2013-10-29|access-date=2025-01-18}}</ref>

On August 25, 2006, at the ''[[UFC 62]]'' weigh-ins, Dana White announced a rematch between Ortiz and Shamrock for October 10, 2006, on Spike TV, as the main event of [[Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter]]. Ortiz beat Shamrock for the third time in this fight, which was stopped in the first round due to strikes. On December 30, 2006, at ''[[UFC 66]]'', Ortiz's rematch with Chuck Liddell (for the UFC [[Light Heavyweight (MMA)|Light Heavyweight]] championship) ended in defeat via referee stoppage in the third round.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-66-review-ice-age-continues-as-liddell-beats-ortiz-2 |title=UFC 66 REVIEW: ICE AGE CONTINUES AS LIDDELL BEATS ORTIZ |work=MMAWeekly.com|date=December 30, 2006 |access-date=October 20, 2010}}</ref> This fight earned him a ''[[List of UFC bonus award recipients|Knockout of the Night]]'' award.<ref name="Shamrock3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2014/11/14/bellator-131-tito-ortiz-with-life-under-control-looks-to-take-out-stephan-bonnar/|title=Bellator 131: Tito Ortiz, with life under control, looks to take out Stephan Bonnar|publisher=dailynews.com|author=Brian Martin|date=2017-08-28|access-date=2025-01-18}}</ref>

He then fought against undefeated ''[[The Ultimate Fighter 2]]'' winner [[Rashad Evans]] on July 7, 2007, at ''[[UFC 73]]''. Ortiz took charge of the fight from the outset, taking Evans down and controlling him. In the second round Ortiz once again took control and nearly submitted Evans before the culmination of the round. The fight ended in a draw after Ortiz was penalized for grabbing the fence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=8207 |title=Monday Morning Reverie: True Champions |work=Sherdog.com |date=July 9, 2007 |last=Sloan |first=Mike |access-date=January 19, 2009}}</ref> Ortiz's last fight on his contract with the UFC was a unanimous decision loss to the then undefeated [[Lyoto Machida]] at [[UFC 84]] on May 24, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-84-results-and-live-play-by-play-2 |title=UFC 84 Results and Live Play-by-Play |work=MMAWeekly.com |date=May 24, 2008 |access-date=January 19, 2009}}</ref> All three judges scored the fight 30–27 to Machida.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mmaopinion.com/2008/05/27/are-judges-favoring-the-lyoto-machida-style/ |title=Are Judges Favoring the Lyoto Machida Style? |first=Brandt |last=DeLorenzo |work=MMAOpinion.com |date=May 27, 2008 |access-date=January 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203042139/http://www.mmaopinion.com/2008/05/27/are-judges-favoring-the-lyoto-machida-style/ |archive-date=February 3, 2009 }}</ref> Ortiz came close to submitting Machida in the third round with a triangle choke before transitioning to an armbar.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sherdog.com |url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-84-ill-will-play-by-play-12885 |title=UFC 84 'Ill Will' Play-by-Play |work=Sherdog.com |date=May 24, 2008 |access-date=January 19, 2009}}</ref> However, Machida managed to escape and survived the round, winning a unanimous judges' decision. The fight concluded Ortiz's stay with the promotion as he chose not to re-sign, citing his frustration with UFC president Dana White as a major factor in the decision.<ref>{{cite web|first=Damon |last=Martin |url=http://mmaweekly.com/ortiz-confirms-he-will-not-return-to-ufc-2 |title=Ortiz Confirms He Will Not Return To UFC |work=MMAWeekly.com |date=May 29, 2008 |access-date=July 23, 2011}}</ref>