Tito Ortiz is one of the biggest characters in MMA. Ortiz made his way into the UFC early, straight out of college with a good wrestling pedigree and had had a good run in the UFC despite his often contentious relationship with (his) former manager Dana White.
Ortiz is also often ridiculed online for an array of conspiracies he whole heartedly believes in. This kind of thing ultimately put a kibosh on his promising political career as a mayor-pro-tem of Huntington beach.
Recently Ortiz guested on Paddy Pimblett’s podcast and the two had an honest conversation about Ortiz’ trajectory in MMA and potential pitfalls in their chosen profession. One moment stood out, Ortiz had taken a stand against MMA pros coming after each others families as a part of promoting their bouts.
“I’ve been competing now for 25 years. Don’t talk about a person’s family, don’t talk about a person’s country, and don’t lie. If you can do those three things and you can talk sh*t and you could back it up, the fans love it. I think that’s what’s really important.”
Ortiz continued:
“I watch a lot of other guys, guys like Conor [McGregor] and they start talking about people’s wives and sh*t, and that’s just a line that shouldn’t be drawn. Families can’t defend themselves, you know?”
“Talk about his character. Talk about his person. Talk about him. Don’t talk about the people that are around him, family-wise at least.”
“Those are the type of rules that I used that helped me. Once again, at the end of the day, when the fight is over, you’re gonna shake the guy’s hand and say, ‘good job.’”