Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has long been vocal about his controversial relationship with the UFC organization.
During an appearance on the BE GREAT Podcast, Ortiz addressed the loss of his Instagram following by UFC, which once stood at nearly 500,000.
“All my social media on Instagram, you know, I had almost 500,000 followers. They took it away because I was speaking the truth,” Ortiz stated, suggesting the platform removal was retribution for his political views and outspoken nature.
He stated, “They took it away because I was speaking the truth. And I I just come to realize that I can’t fix the world. I can’t fix our country, but I could be a voice and speak up when other people are afraid to speak up.”
However, the reality behind the account’s removal appears less sinister. While Ortiz has been consistent in his criticism of the UFC’s treatment of contenders throughout his career, sources indicate the Instagram takedown occurred following an accidental broadcast that violated platform guidelines, rather than any coordinated effort by the UFC.
An accidental Instagram Live briefly showed Ortiz’s wife exiting the shower partially unclothed. This unintended clip was later removed and predated 2021 and is the reason for Ortiz’s account getting removed.
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s complicated relationship with the UFC has been well-documented. Throughout his combat career, Ortiz positioned himself as an advocate for competitor pay and rights, often clashing with UFC president Dana White.
“These guys now that make the $12 million, if it wasn’t for me speaking up, they would have made never made the $12 million. They’d still be making hundreds of thousands of dollars. But I was the guy to speak up,” Ortiz explained during the podcast.
Despite his grievances, the UFC veteran has recently adopted a more conciliatory approach. “I was the guy to push against the grain. And you know, it was it was a downfall a lot of times that I probably shouldn’t have said what I said,” he admitted, acknowledging that his confrontational stance may have contributed to what he perceives as being erased from UFC history.
Ortiz’s journey from troubled youth to UFC champion reads like a Hollywood script. Graduating high school and falling into su**tance use while working for Allied Moving Service, he found redemption through wrestling at junior college.
His first UFC match came at UFC 13 on May 30, 1997, remarkably with zero striking experience and competing for free because his student-athlete status prevented him from accepting prize money.
Ortiz credits his success to an unmatched work ethic and mental preparation. Before his challenging bout against Vitor Belfort, where he suffered a broken nose in the first 90 seconds,
Ortiz spent seven weeks training in Big Bear, California, including a memorable three-hour session shoveling snow to strengthen his resolve. “Every night I would go to bed and I would sit there and go, ‘You’re going to beat him,'” he recalled about his pre-fight mental preparation.
Now residing in Florida and operating Tito’s Cantina, Ortiz has found peace away from California’s political climate. He serves as a wrestling coach at Idyllwild Baker High School and recently became baptized with his wife Amber and their children. This spiritual awakening has brought perspective to old feuds, including his public rivalry with Chael Sonnen.
“I don’t hate Chael. I dislike him for the things he said, but that’s behind me now,” Ortiz said, explaining how a conversation with a restaurant patron challenged him to reconcile his faith with harboring resentment. “If I let that dwindle and I let that just think in my mind and eat me alive, I’m going to live in that type of mentality.”
While Ortiz maintains that UFC has attempted to diminish his legacy, his claims of Instagram sabotage appear to conflate separate issues: his legitimate concerns about compensation and recognition, and the platform’s enforcement of content policies.
