How good was Tito Ortiz?

mjfan23 said:
He was competitive against the next generation too in fights against Forrest and Rashad. Won’t even mention Bader lol

But I absolutely agree he was a product of favourable competition and marketing. There is no way he should be ranked ahead of machida as a fighter.
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Did he fight Rashad twice? Cuz the 2nd fight Rashad destroyed Ortiz.
 
Ancient Warrior said:
Tito was definitely talented, but he was a huge lightheavy.

Really good grappling, pretty good striking, but his physicality was usually overwhelming for most.
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Coleman was The Godfather of the Ground and Pound…


Tito was The Godfather of the crazy weight cut.
 
if u eliminate all his wins over guys who later fought at 185, u get a better idea of titos real prime
he was the man for a time, but it was being a hw who cuts to 206 or 200 that made him champ
 
"Got good was Tito Ortiz?"

I'm convinced TS might actually be Tito Ortiz

Anyways he was very good for his era, had a legit path to victory vs just about every LHW of the night except Chuck who happened to be the worst stylistic matchup imaginable for Tito. Couture was another bad matchup and spanked him (literally) as Couture had the size and wrestling to not get bullied and mauled by Tito, although I would've given Tito a chance in a rematch whereas no version of Tito ever beats prime Chuck

I was always a Pride > UFC guy but I do believe Tito could've been a problem for a lot of the Pride 205ers if he could avoid the yellow cards and standups for stalling on the ground. No elbows in Pride would've been a problem for him but I think he could've found away to incorporate Pride's knees to grounded opponents. Tito vs Rampage would've been an awesome matchup
 
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He is pretty good. He could have ran early Pride if he went there. He wasted majority of his productive years in the dark ages
 
NoSmilez said:
He is pretty good. He could have ran early Pride if he went there. He wasted majority of his productive years in the dark ages
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I don’t know. The cage suits Tito best with the use of elbows. That was his bread and butter.
 
At the time of his reign, the best MMA fighters were in PRIDE rather UFC. That said, I'm pretty sure he'd be at the very least top 5 nowadays.
 
faustian said:
"Got good was Tito Ortiz?"

I'm convinced TS might actually be Tito Ortiz

Anyways he was very good for his era, had a legit path to victory vs just about every LHW of the night except Chuck who happened to be the worst stylistic matchup imaginable for Tito. Couture was another bad matchup and spanked him (literally) as Couture had the size and wrestling to not get bullied and mauled by Tito, although I would've given Tito a chance in a rematch whereas no version of Tito ever beats prime Chuck. I was always a Pride > UFC guy but I do believe Tito could've been a problem for a lot of the Pride 205ers if he could avoid the yellow cards and standups for stalling on the ground. No elbows in Pride would've been a problem for him but I think he could've found away to incorporate Pride's knees to grounded opponents. Tito vs Rampage would've been an awesome matchup
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I am the greatest poster of the night.
 
He was huge for a lhw, pretty weak chin, great rasslin, stamina ok, epic gnp, decent stand up, won against lighter/smaller opponents, the first UFC fighter who made a character out of himself, made it look ”cool”.
Dana should thank his lucky ass Tito was in the UFC around early 2000, saved them WAY more than TUF imo.

Cheers!
 
He earned a hard-fought decision win over a roided-out LHW version of Vitor. One of my all-time favorite fights, but forgotten by most people today. The back-and-forth, with Vitor landing huge shots on the feet and almost KOing Tito, and then Tito coming back with a takedown and brutal GnP, was incredible.
 
He was good, but like you pointed out, he beat many undersized guys. Great gnp from the guard/half-guard.
Only Here for Attachments said:
He was decent for his time. His fame comes mostly from his personality rather than his fights.
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Maia, Couture and Hendo destroyed that myth a long time ago.
A big dude with crazy cardio will do well in any era.
For fuck sake, A. Smith got a title shot not that long ago.
 
chiefwiggum said:
I don’t know. The cage suits Tito best with the use of elbows. That was his bread and butter.
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He can adapt. The takedown or ability to stop the takedown is more important. Pride rules takes away elbows but they will let him wear shoes again. He works enough not to get stood up and get a yellow card. He is also a lot bigger than Pride LHWs. Pride kinda sold us a dream with smaller guys that were pumped up on steroids.
 
Got good?


<BidenShutIt>
 
Tito Ortiz is a legend everywhere he steps, or steps into. Just ask Jenna Jamison or the city of Huntington Beach.

The only thing I never understood why the condom companies didn't get Tito to be their spokesman....he looks like a penis and sounds like a penis.
 
He was a rookie when he lost to Shamrock and Mezger. Still dominated Frank anyway before gassing out and avenged the loss to Mezger.

As for the "undersized opponents" argument, he manhandled Olympic level wrestler Vladimir Matyushenko who mostly fought at HW.

Sinosic (I think) and Cote were late replacements.

Couture and Liddell were great fighters and bad matchups for him. No shame in those losses.

He was really good when it comes down to it. He still would be really good if he came along today. Probably a lot better with the upgraded training methods.
 
Had a fine career but was never truly one of the top guys in the world while UFC champ, let alone after.
 
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