May 30, 2012. The words come out of the former Light Heavyweight Champion’s mouth with the certainty of someone who was just asked what color the sky is. That is the expiration date of the career of one of UFC’s all-time biggest pay-per-view draws.
“That will be 15 years. 15 years has always been my goal. I have one fight beyond this on my contract, then maybe it’s time to hang up the gloves. Walk away while I’m still healthy. I have three boys, I have a family to take care of. I’ve made enough money to take care of my family now. What else do I have to prove? I don’t have to prove anything else in the MMA world. People like to see me fight, they can still go to youtube or ufc.com and watch the old fights.”
When questioned about the dearth of fighters who walk away on their own terms, Ortiz turned philosophical.
“It’s not easy to walk away because I love the sport, I love competing so much. But I don’t want to disrespect the sport. I’m not going to overstay my welcome.”
But what does retirement mean to Tito Ortiz? It is after all, hard to picture the man once known as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” sitting on his porch in white shoes and pants that come up to his chest, complaining about the government full-time. In addition to his Punishment Athletics clothing company and his new supplement line Punishment Nutrition, the entrepreneurial Ortiz has now opened the Punishment Training Center in his native Huntington Beach.
“It’s right next to my house. I teach classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, kids and adult classes. I’m giving back to the community and that’s what it means to me.”
His career is not over yet though, and he is not letting Rogerio Nogueira off the hook.
‘The matches he lost, he lost because of takedowns, that’s my strength. He kicks at me, I’m going to take him down. He throws punches and comes at me, I’m going to take him down. I’m going to put the pressure on him. It’s going to be an exciting fight. I’m going to expose him and put the heat on him. [Against Bader] I got a Submission of the Night Bonus, after that I got the Fight of the Night bonus, I’m going to get KO of the Night bonus on Saturday.”
Those do not sound like the words of a man who is ready for the golf course quite yet.
