It was May 30, 1997, when Tito Ortiz stepped into the Octagon for the very first time.
And, fortunately for Ortiz, his UFC debut lasted a short 31 seconds as he was declared victorious over Wes Albritton via technical knockout.
Nearly three years later, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy was fighting for the UFC light heavyweight championship against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25.
Ortiz would take Silva to the judge’s scorecards and was announced as the new 205-pound champion.
The winning didn’t stop there as Ortiz would go on to defend his title in five consecutive bouts until he was finally dethroned by Randy Couture at UFC 44.
Many fans felt Ortiz would never be the fighter he once was as he would lose in his very next fight to Chuck Liddell by way of knockout in Round 2.
But, Ortiz returned to the ‘Tito’ we once knew as he reeled off five consecutive wins from 2004 to 2006.
However, that is where Ortiz’s era of dominance would end, as his career would take a turn for the worse.
Following his win over Ken Shamrock in October 2006, Ortiz would lose four of his next five bouts including a draw against Rashad Evans at UFC 73.
Ortiz would step away from the Octagon only to return less than nine months later.
In his first fight back, Ortiz earned his first win in nearly five years as he submitted Ryan Bader via Guillotine Choke at UFC 132.
But Ortiz proved he wasn’t back to being an elite contender as he was dominated by Rashad Evans in his very fight at UFC 133.
Ortiz is now set to square off with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 in Toronto on Dec. 10.
And, if the Huntington Beach Bad Boy were to fall short against Nogueira in their light heavyweight showdown, he’ll have posted a 1-6-1 record in his last eight outings.
Ortiz is clearly on the down slope of his mixed martial arts career, which leaves UFC fans across the globe with one question…
Will this be the last fight of Tito Ortiz’s career?
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