- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 737
- Reaction score
- 983
I was discussing this with my friend the other day. What do you think is Ortiz' legacy AS A FIGHTER. We all know him for his brash, shit-talking persona and his feuds with Liddell, Shamrock and Dana. But what do you think he'll be most remembered for AS A FIGHTER?????
I feel like his legacy is fairly complicated. He was a good fighter early in his career and certainly beat (or came close to beating) a lot of legends in the early days; Frank Shamrock, Wanderlei, Mezger, Bohlander,
Forrest and Belfort.
BUT. He is 3-11-1 in the last ten years. Most of those losses weren't close. He beat an undersized Shlemenko, an unmotivated Bonnar and an over-the-hill Shamrock. I'll give him credit for submitting Bader; that's pretty incredible, but the last half of his career has been pretty underwhelming.
Also, when you consider when Tito was on his hot streak, the list of opponents he beat was not impressive. Journeymen such as Kondo and Sinosic, Matyushenko who was called up with just 2 weeks to prepare and a massively undersized Tanner.
This isn't to discredit Tito in any way. He certainly holds some great wins, was dominant against some top-level fighters back in the day, and had insanely damaging ground and pound. I just think history won't be kind to Tito. Thoughts?
I feel like his legacy is fairly complicated. He was a good fighter early in his career and certainly beat (or came close to beating) a lot of legends in the early days; Frank Shamrock, Wanderlei, Mezger, Bohlander,
Forrest and Belfort.
BUT. He is 3-11-1 in the last ten years. Most of those losses weren't close. He beat an undersized Shlemenko, an unmotivated Bonnar and an over-the-hill Shamrock. I'll give him credit for submitting Bader; that's pretty incredible, but the last half of his career has been pretty underwhelming.
Also, when you consider when Tito was on his hot streak, the list of opponents he beat was not impressive. Journeymen such as Kondo and Sinosic, Matyushenko who was called up with just 2 weeks to prepare and a massively undersized Tanner.
This isn't to discredit Tito in any way. He certainly holds some great wins, was dominant against some top-level fighters back in the day, and had insanely damaging ground and pound. I just think history won't be kind to Tito. Thoughts?
