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Tito Ortiz is one of the most controversial, divisive and entertaining UFC fighters of all time. The UFC Hall of Famer was one of the greatest UFC Light-Heavyweight Champions ever and contested stunning bouts with a who's who of MMA legends. This lists counts down his five finest performances in UFC.
#5 versus Forest Griffin (UFC 59, April 15, 2006)
As Tito Ortiz continued his rise to regain the Light-Heavyweight Championship, he was paired with The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner, Forest Griffin. What ensued was the 2006 fight of the year as Ortiz and Griffin contested a hugely entertaining back and forth contest.
Ortiz decisively won the first round before Griffin roared back into contention in the second, with impressive combination strikes hurting Ortiz, before a much more even final round, where Griffin landed more combinations before Ortiz took Griffin down decisively into guard.
The official result was a split decision victory for Ortiz, in one of finest performances of his career.
#4 versus Ken Shamrock (UFC 61, July 8, 2006)
The much-anticipated rematch between bitter rivals, Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock took place four years after their previous encounter.
Unfortunately, as a contest, it was even more of a mismatch than their first fight.
Shamrock rocked Ortiz early with a barrage of strikes before Ortiz took control with a clinch and take-down followed by several elbows to the head that went unanswered by Shamrock. Ortiz was the winner in just 78 seconds.
The stoppage was a little premature, given Shamrock leaped to his feet immediately after the TKO decision. However, Shamrock wasn't defending himself and Ortiz was by far the superior fighter in the match. After one further rematch, Ortiz finished Shamrock's UFC career with yet another definitive victory.
#3 versus Vitor Belfort (UFC 51, February 5, 2005)
In February 2005, Tito Ortiz was a man under pressure. He had last two consecutive fights to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell before a less than impressive points win over the inexperienced Patrick Cote at UFC 50.
Ortiz needed a big victory over a significant star to put himself back into Light-Heavyweight Championship contention.
In an incredibly close contest, Ortiz and Belfort exchanged impressive flurries of strikes. However, more of Ortiz's landed than Belfort's. Both men inflicted significant ground and pound damage on the other but it was Ortiz who impressed the most in the final round landing elbow after elbow from the guard.
Ortiz was back. He won a tight split decision and announced his intention to challenge Chuck Liddell once more post-match and talked trash about Ken Shamrock causing both men to angrily confront him in the Octagon in chaotic scenes. This match was classic Tito.
#2 versus Ken Shamrock (UFC 40, November 22, 2002)
Tito Ortiz was on top of the world as UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion and won five consecutive fights prior to this contest with the veteran of UFC 1, Ken Shamrock.
The enmity between the two men dated back years to UFC 19 in March 1999. Shamrock, then a WWF competitor, was in the corner of his Lion's Den team-mate, Guy Mezger who Ortiz had just defeated. Ortiz's post-match disrespect to Mezger, highlighted by a t-shirt that Ortiz adorned which read "Guy Mezger is my b*tch", sent Shamrock into a fury and he clambered on top of the Octagon fence berating the young upstart.
It wasn't until almost four years later, that Shamrock could get his hands on Ortiz. However, unfortunately in 2002, Shamrock had begun his decline as a fighter, due to injuries sustained in his wrestling career. Shamrock would undergo ACL surgery after this fight and something seemed to be on his mind as he entered the Octagon, looking like a beaten man before the bout had begun.
Shamrock did rock Ortiz with a brutal right hand early on, but Ortiz soon took down Shamrock at will and pounded on him relentlessly. Shamrock showed incredible heart to survive 15 minutes with Ortiz before his corner threw the towel in. Ortiz had truly arrived as the man to beat in the sport with the victory over a true UFC legend.
#1 versus Wanderlei Silva (UFC 25, April 14, 2000)
In a hugely impressive performance, Tito Ortiz defeated the "Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva to win the UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship.
In what would become his trademark, Ortiz took Silva down into his guard and pounded away at Silva in the first round. Ortiz continued his dominance with a huge right hand that dropped Silva at the start of the second and led to more ground and pound, that to his credit Silva managed to mostly block.
Silva finally started to roll in the third round with his striking combinations which at one point caused Ortiz to run the entire length of the Octagon to avoid any more shots.
Ortiz recovered in the two final rounds, by continuing the ground and pound assault, earning him the unanimous decision victory.
It was a significant victory over one of the finest MMA superstars ever and was the performance that forced everyone to take note. Tito was the real deal.
