Tito Ortiz - all time ranking

Lower top 8-12 probably.

I'd put him below Jones, Wandy, Chuck, Shogun, DC, Couture, Rampage. So 8th at best. After that, it gets murky.
 
MuffinsAppletree said:
Tito training 5 times a week, 2 times a day is ranked #20

The Tito that trains 6 days a week, one time a day and 2 times a day for 3 days is ranked #15

tito bless
Click to expand...
Let me tell you how you're feeling right now, by the move...of the fight.
 
TheMaster said:
In terms of fighting ability, in the top 25-30 at LHW all time.

In terms of legacy and influence he has to be considered in the top 10, he was the man for a while albeit when nobody was watching the sport.

When Ken handed the baton to him as the most famous NHB fighter on the planet it was a pivotal moment in the sports development.
View attachment 968227

And when he handed it to Chuck is when the sport headed to the mainstream.
View attachment 968229



View attachment 968226
Click to expand...

that gif is fucking legendary
 
He's like Matt Hughes at WW where he accomplished a lot but it's hard to place him above any of the modern greats. To his credit he evolved with the sport to an extent and stuck around a long time.

He should be ranked above Wanderlai.
 
jeff7b9 said:
I am trying to be as fair as possible. While I can see an argument that Tito may have lost to those guys I do not feel like they have the achievements to warrant ranking them that high.

I went with guys that held/defended a premier title and had high value wins on their resume. Arona has a great strength of schedule and some big wins, but no title. His win over Wandy, probably his biggest w, was a non title fight in a tournament. when they fought again for the belt Wandy won.
(Also Tito beat Wandy in a title fight)

But it is subjective, if you feel like Arona belongs higher I could understand how you might feel that way. Not sure if I would agree for Lil nog or Gus but if you wanted to state your case I would listen.
Click to expand...
Lil Nog submitted prime Hendo, and his epic first fight with prime Shogun alone really makes him look beyond Tito even though he lost a very close decision- the Shogun from that epic fight would have absolutely mauled Tito, and left him with even less brain cells. Neither the ground or the standup would be favorable for Tito against Lil Nog.

Jones had a hell of a time taking Gus down and many say lost that fight. Tito would have gone to sleep if he couldn't get Gus down, and I doubt he would fare better than Jones at it. Bad matchup for Tito.

Arona could have easily beaten everyone Tito did in his title run, as could the other guys.

Tito was a quality fighter early on, but he did not compare the those fighting overseas. Titles are always relative in value and meaning.
 
Last edited:
He is probably top ten within the LHWs. It's hard to rank him because he fought in the UFC when Pride was around. He was a bit underrated though. He predated Pride FC and he stuck around when the TUF guys were winning championships. He didn't really go out losing many fights in Bellator. He did get slept rather easily by Anderson in his boxing debut. For a super injured guy he somewhat has longevity. Almost all his contemporaries are in worst shape than him.

It's hard to rank the LHW guys in general. It was the premiere weight class for quite a long time and you had a wealth of talent. You had Tito who beat Wandy before he went on a tear and I believe Randy and Chuck would have done it too. You can argue that the Wanderlei that Chuck fought in the UFC is damaged goods though.
 
Barely top 10 but over the next 15 years top 15. There’s no one at 205 anymore.
 
Lee_ said:
Lil Nog submitted prime Hendo, and his epic first fight with prime Shogun alone really makes him look beyond Tito even though he lost a very close decision- the Shogun from that epic fight would have absolutely mauled Tito, and left him with even less brain cells. Neither the ground or the standup would be favorable for Tito against Lil Nog.

Jones had a hell of a time taking Gus down and many say lost that fight. Tito would have gone to sleep if he couldn't get Gus down, and I doubt he would fare better than Jones at it. Bad matchup for Tito.

Arona could have easily beaten everyone Tito did in his title run, as could the other guys.

Tito was a quality fighter early on, but he did not compare the those fighting overseas. Titles are always relative in value and meaning.
Click to expand...
Little Nog has better wins than Tito and he beat Tito head to head. He never won a major title or tournament and I do think that there is something to be said that Tito owns a more prominent place in the history of the sport by being the face of UFC the for a while. Wins over Overeem and Hendo, Sakuraba, Nakamura.
Little Nog gets a lot of credit for having a close fight vs Prime Shogun but he lost that fight and was 0-3 vs Shogun. He had a rough time in his UFC run but Tito also has a rough stretch with Tito's being worse.

Arona is a case of what could have been, which is funny because that is your first sentence "Arona could have"
But fighters are ranked on what they did, not in what they could have done.
Arona fought a very high-level of competition so he had big wins and big but respectable losses. Like Lil nog he got KOed by Sokoudjou and lost to Shogun, he split with prime Wandy and beat the absolute shit out of Sakuraba.
I think Arona WOULD HAVE been ahead of Tito if he continued his career but as is he falls short on accomplishments.

Gus... never has a fighter gotten more credit for losses than Gus. His claim to fame is losing to Jones and DC. What's his best win? Glover or an aging Shogun.
 
Probably fringe top 10 - 15. LHW has had a lot of well decorated fighters.
 
NoSmilez said:
You can argue that the Wanderlei that Chuck fought in the UFC is damaged goods though.
Click to expand...
I consider this to be the moment when damage caught up to Wanderlei.

Screenshot_20230212_212111_Chrome.jpg Screenshot_20230212_212137_Google.jpg

Wandy was aggressive, he utilized pressure well, he had a decent variety of attacks by basically employing the 8 points of muay Thai, and he had the chin to save him when he did get caught with a counter to his blitz.

Fearless -> human
Aggressive -> at times
Great chin -> human chin

Then this happened:

Screenshot_20230212_212802_Google.jpg
Screenshot_20230212_212739_Google.jpg

Then he fought Chuck.
Neither were at their peak form.



And then this happened:

Screenshot_20230212_212649_Google.jpg
Screenshot_20230212_212600_Google.jpg Screenshot_20230212_212539_Google.jpg

It was a process.

Wandy fought a wild berserker style.
We loved him for it.
He was fearless.
He even went up to HW to take on Mirko CroCop TWICE and Mark Hunt.

If you play with fire for long enough, you are bound to get burned.



But long story short, I agree that the version of Wandy who fought Chuck was a diminished version, specifically due to the damage from that NASTY head kick KO from CroCop and from the Hendo KO.
 
Like Tito said, "Number is just an age"
 
Prime Tito literally runs through this Jiri, Glover, Hill era with his power double and GNP.

And if you don’t agree with me then you are clearly a casual.
 
djacobox372 said:
You have to include Wands pride run as well, since pride was absorbed by the UFC.
Click to expand...
You are correct.

You also have to include both fighter's Bellator runs as well, because that is also part of their MMA careers.
 
I don't like him but I do respect him. I think he's probably in the 9-15 range for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,280,621
Messages
58,305,845
Members
176,000
Latest member
Furigo94

Share this page

Back
Top