Things can happen quickly in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, both in and out of the ring.
Tito Ortiz, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” has seen it all.
In the past year, he’s mended his relationship with UFC President Dana White. He and his girlfriend, adult film star Jenna Jameson, had twin boys, Jesse and Journey, in March.
Life outside the octagon has moved just as fast as a takedown for Ortiz, one of the most recognizable names in the sport. Oh yeah, and at the age of 34, he’s ready to make his comeback.
Ortiz will fight Forrest Griffin Saturday night in Las Vegas as the main event of UFC 106. The fight, which is Ortiz’s first since losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 in May 2008, will be available on pay-per-view.
After that fight, many thought Ortiz was done with the UFC. He had a falling out with White, partially stemming from White’s control over the business side of the organization. But last Friday in a conference call with reporters, Ortiz sounded at-ease and ready to get back into it.
“Everything’s awesome,” Ortiz said. “I just kind of miss that Dana travels so much because I don’t have anybody to cuddle with in the nighttime.”
Seriously though, Ortiz is back. But for a while, it was his back that seemed to put his status in doubt. Ortiz had back surgery last October and just started training again over the summer. For the past several weeks, he’s been in Big Bear, training at a facility the “Bad Boy” bought from the “Golden Boy,” Oscar de la Hoya.
His weight went as high as 232 pounds. Now, he said he’s between 218 and 222 and “in some of the best shape of my life.” He’ll cut weight to meet the 205-pound light-heavyweight limit.
“I’m a fighter,” he said. “You know, I’ve been in this game for 12 years. I won the world title after a year-and-half of competition and held onto it for four consecutive years and five consecutive title defenses, longer than any other light heavyweight’s ever done it.
“When I got injured, everything kind of went downhill after that. I was just kind of training to survive for each fight and, you know, there’s fight I should have taken and I shouldn’t have taken, but I believe when I come in I have a lot of heart. I have a lot of determination and you know I put in the right training. And when it’s fight time, you know I give it my all.”
