Today's UFC has 135-pounders headlining Pay-Per-View events, but Saturday's gala, No. 132, turned back the clock.
Thanks go to Tito Ortiz, who stole the show with a submission victory over Ryan Bader. Ortiz, the former long-time light heavyweight champion, was the longest shot on the board.
If you are among the group who knows what MMA or the UFC is but does not know too much about it, then there are a handful of names that might ring a bell. Tito Ortiz, the so-called Huntington Beach Bad Boy, is one of them.
As a light-heavyweight champion in the UFC from 2000-2003, Ortiz helped put the company on the map. But since he lost his belt to Randy Couture at UFC 44, Ortiz had not had a signature win. Sure, there were split-decision victories over Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin, but Ortiz was expected to win those matches en route to another title shot.
That was back in 2005-06. Ortiz eventually got his shot on Dec. 30, 2006, but was stopped by the fists of Chuck Liddell for the second time in his career, and never sniffed a title shot again.
The losses, injuries and excuses began to pile up as he became a once-a-year-fighter. In 2007 it was a draw with Rashad Evans in which Ortiz was deducted a point for holding the fence. In 2008 he lost to Lyoto Machida. In 2009 Griffin returned the favor with a split-decision victory. In 2010, Matt Hamill prevailed unanimously.
In between, there were surgeries, rehab, and more surgeries and more rehab. There was the out-of-the-cage relationship with former adult entertainment star Jenna Jameson, with all their ups-and-downs aired through TMZ and Twitter. There was the period where his contract expired and the rumor mill had Ortiz signing with every organization other than the UFC.
By the time he rolled into Las Vegas for UFC 132, Ortiz was on his last legs with Zuffa, the parent company of the promotion. UFC president Dana White, Ortiz's manager when the sport was still in its fawn stage, indicated as much. Like the oddsmakers who made him a 4-1 underdog, White did not have confidence this version of Ortiz had enough left to beat the younger hard-charger, Bader.
A right hand to the side of Bader's head just about changed everything. It buckled the former Arizona State wrestling star, and Ortiz's old instincts were shown to be still sharp. He smelled blood, went in for the kill and secured a guillotine choke. Ortiz cinched it up, pulled back, and when Bader tapped out, the crowd began to party like it was, well, 2006.
Ortiz was able to be himself after the fight, taking over the press conference. He simply has that star power. No matter what he is saying, it's easy to listen. Ortiz sounded justified, his explantions for past transgressions legitimized.
White, despite his wars with Ortiz, had to be smiling -- at least as a businessman. After all, one of his great draws will fight again, and fans will pay to tune in.
Nothing against the little guys.
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