Tito Ortiz to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July
Posted on June 12, 2012, 05:42 PM by Mike Searson
Tito Ortiz (16-10) will officially retire at UFC 148 in Las Vegas. One of the few fighters to have fought all of his bouts in the UFC, the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy", will be honored by induction into the organization's Hall of Fame that same weekend.
This was confirmed by MMAWeekly.com after the UFC 150 press conference held in Denver by UFC President Dana White. White told MMAWeekly: “He pound for pound was doing some of the most damage at a time when we were hurting,but it’s part of our history the way the storylines played out between me, Chuck and Tito. He’s definitely a part of the history of the sport.”
Ortiz will be the first induction into the Hall of Fame since 2010, when Matt Hughes was inducted. Known for his longtime rivalry with fellow Hall of Fame member, Chuck Liddell, and feuds with Dana White; Ortiz has always been a great ambassador for the sport and a huge box-office draw. His rematch with Liddell was the first UFC pay-per-view event to break the 1 million mark.
Ortiz decided after his last match against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to compete in the UFC one last time and retire. He will face Forrest Griffin in the Octagon as his farewell bout, shortly after his induction as the ninth honoree into the Hall. Ortiz holds the record for most title defenses of the Light Heavyweight Championship belt, at five.
Post-retirement, Ortiz will remain in the sport as a coach and trainer, something he excels at.
UFC Hall of Fame Roster:
-Royce Gracie
-Ken Shamrock
-Dan Severn
-Mark Coleman
-Randy Couture
-Charles Lewis
-Chuck Liddell
-Matt Hughes
Comments
Christmas came early
Im glad to hear that. He deserves it. He always put his heart and soul in his fights. He fights for the fans !
BJ penn should be next
I'd rather see Evan Tanner in there before BJ.
^^ D*pshit. ^^
Ortiz is one of the greatest champions ever in the sport. Well deserved. Congrats to Tito.
Happy for Tito, they better not put Brock in, Pat Miletich needs to be inducted asap
He is also a good ambassador, he visits wounded soldiers, and every year has gone to Iraq, and Afghanistan to visit the soldiers, he was the first in the UFC to do that, and got other fighters started doing the same thing.
the peoples champ right there!
what about fedor?
we know... he never forgets to tell us after every fight.
Good for Tito ...well deserved
Now where is Dana going to find a picture frame big enough for Tito's head?
LMFAO! that was outrageous dude....
@Sambo
I think Tito's head will need it's own hall.
I wonder what they will do with Jenna Jameson's head?
Jenna and Head should be in the HOF of awesomeness.
I hope Tito makes her floss after she has finished work...
Jenna's cave is the "Hall"
I always loved that grave digger celebration, Tito was the most iconic figure to me apart from Randy when I first starting watching the UFC.
Love him or hate him he deserves it.
Another thing for him to bring up multiple times every time he is interviewed
Don't be surprised if Tito starts calling himself
the 'fighters champion' of the Hall of Famers.
i don't know about you guys but i think jenna also deserve to be recognize
for her hard work
she is recognized by the millions she has in the bank.
Thats about one dollar per man shes screwed.
Although Tito has kept fighting long past his expiry date in the sport, and I don't have much time for what "the people's champ" has to say these days, there is absolutely no question he belongs if the HoF.
I wonder if Chuck will want out now that Tito is there?
Hall of shame he sucks who is next Lesnar
Not very bright and a bit of a drama queen but I'm sure he could beat my a$$ good. Definately deserves it despite his flaws outside the ring.
NOOO!!!He should rematch Rashad 1 more time and then fight Stephan Bonnar 3 times and then..No but seriously there was a time when Tito was a dominant champ even if Frank Shamrock completley dominated him.I remember him fighting Wandi and at one point he turned his back and ran from him across the cage then turned around and took him down.I belive if Lidell hadnt gone to Pride Tito's reign would have been short.
If the UFC was a UFO would he be abducted into the saucer of fame?
It's about time!!!!!!!!
Tito deserves it. However I think 16-10 is probably the least impressive record we'll ever see of any Hall of Fame inductee.
I'm sure Ken Shamrock would agree!
How many times do you think Tito will be mentioning this in his press conferences leading up to his last fight?
Anderson needs to be in there & soon.