Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz recently reflected on his brief foray into local government, describing his stint on the Huntington Beach City Council as “the worst decision” of his life.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani, the mixed martial arts icon called the political landscape “disgusting” and “toxic,” arguing that the hyper-partisan nature of public office made his 25-year career in combat sports feel simple by comparison.
Ortiz, who ran on a “Make Huntington Beach Safe Again” platform, was sworn into office in late 2020 and served as Mayor Pro Tem. However, his tenure lasted just six months before he abruptly resigned in June 2021, citing relentless media attacks and character assassination.
“It is so disgusting,” Ortiz told Helwani. “To me, I like to make everybody happy. And in politics, you can’t make everybody happy because there’s literally a straight black line right down on either your red or your blue and of course you’ve got liberals in the middle. I just wish everybody would come together as Americans.”
Ortiz claimed he was unprepared for the level of scrutiny he faced at the grassroots level, stating that political opponents had “no shame” in their tactics. He framed his brief time in office as a trial run that ultimately paved the way for conservative policy shifts in the city.
“I was a guinea pig,” Ortiz said. “It was actually a blessing in disguise because when I became city council member and Mayor Pro Term of Huntington Beach, they attacked me so much that I was like, ‘This is not worth $600 of my time and my name.’ I built so much over a 25-year career in mixed martial arts.”
He continued, “But when I left, they ended up, it was five Democrats and two Republicans that were on city council, and they got rid of all the Democrats. It became all Republican in Huntington Beach. So, Huntington Beach is now known as the Florida of California.”
Despite Ortiz framing his departure as an honorable exit from a broken political system, his resignation came after a series of self-inflicted controversies and public missteps.
In June 2021, Ortiz read from a prepared statement at a council meeting announcing his resignation:
“I am resigning from my position as Mayor Pro Tem and City Councilman with the City of Huntington Beach, effective June 1, 2021. I ran for this position with hopes to better my community… To be so focused on character assassination each and every week with multiple news stories and leaked personal information, all in hopes to slander and defame my name… the attacks against me have now involved my family. I now feel their safety is in danger.”
While Ortiz blamed outside hostility, the timeline of events shows a much messier picture involving pandemic relief filings, unemployment claims, and an anti-mask stunt that put his kids in the spotlight.
During his six months in office, Ortiz was repeatedly questioned over multiple Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and unemployment filings tied to his name:
- PPP Loan #1: $32,292 (addressed by Ortiz) [link]
- PPP Loan #2: $11,800 (unaddressed) [link]
- PPP Loan #3: $20,800 (unaddressed) [link]
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Filing #1: Claimed as a self-employed contractor (addressed by Ortiz)
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Filing #2: Listed the City of Huntington Beach as his employer—a claim reported by NBC Los Angeles with supporting documents that Ortiz never confirmed or denied.
Ortiz maintained that all his filings were “legal and legitimate,” but critics noted that his unwillingness to respond to specific documents raised obvious questions.
Adding to the friction was a high-profile anti-mask demonstration. Just weeks before resigning, Ortiz and his partner, former UFC Octagon Girl Amber, attended “The Great Mask-Off,” an event hosted by the group Informed Parents of California.
Following the event, Ortiz sent his children to school carrying “religious exemption” cards in lieu of masks. School officials rejected the exemptions and sent them home. When news coverage identified his children, Ortiz argued that the media coverage endangered them, though critics noted he knowingly made them part of a public political protest.
Reflecting on those events with Helwani, Ortiz recalled feeling targeted by major news networks over his parenting and political stances.
“I was on the news on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and they were saying that I was being a bad father because I put my kids in a mask at school,” Ortiz said.
He continued, “And it’s just so much that it’s just so toxic that I didn’t want to do that. I got away from that during UFC time with Dana. Just the bash that we would do against each other. Just life’s too short to live like that.”
Ortiz also revealed that his political connections didn’t grant him complete access to high-profile conservative events. Despite a friendship with Donald Trump dating back to UFC 30 in 2001, Ortiz noted he was omitted from a recent UFC event at the White House, attributing the snub to UFC CEO Dana White.
“I spoke with him at Mar-a-Lago, and he goes, ‘Yeah, I know you and Dana really have a tiff against each other.’ So, I think that was a call on Dana’s part,” Ortiz explained. “And it’s okay. It’s fine… It’s a part of life. It’s one of those things you just got to think about it and just kind of brush off your shoulder and go on to the next day.”
Ortiz has since relocated to Florida, where he opened up Tito’s Bar and Grill and continues attempting to stay in the orbit of the political world, leaving behind a short-lived City Council run that imploded under the weight of its own controversies.
