He may have run a political campaign that took him into political office where he does political work. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that Tito Ortiz is a politician.
It’s been less than two months since Tito Ortiz officially won a seat on the City Council for Huntington Beach—one that, through a strange series of coincidences has led to him being named the city’s pro tem mayor. But that hasn’t stopped the former UFC champion from finding a way to keep making headlines.
Whether it’s been bickering with other council members or fumbling his way through learning the ropes of the job, the 2+ weeks since Ortiz was sworn into office have provided a regular stream of entertaining video clips (or potential causes for concern). Most recently, Ortiz was captured on camera having a heated confrontation with what appeared to be one of his constituents in a Huntington Beach parking lot.
“I am setting an example,” Ortiz can be heard saying, while getting harangued with questions about immigration and local police enforcing federal laws. After which Ortiz appeared to tell the man recording the conversation that he’s not a politician. From there, things only got uglier.
In the video, Ortiz appeared to take a step toward the man – who was mocking him over his MMA career – and accused him of being threatening while asking him to “back up.” Ortiz then started shouting at the man, “You’re in my way, boy! Get out! Get out! Back up homie, you’re doing something wrong! I’m not doing nothing, why don’t you back up!?”
Check out the video from the whole sorry situation below.
This is a snippet of a heated conversation between Tito Ortiz and a Huntington Beach resident from earlier today. Police were eventually called. pic.twitter.com/MC0URqd1BO
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) December 23, 2020