It was a little over 14 years ago when Tito Ortiz entered the Octagon for the very first time to take on Wes Albritton in his UFC debut. Ortiz was declared victorious via technical knockout, the first of many wins throughout his mixed martial arts care…
It was a little over 14 years ago when Tito Ortiz entered the Octagon for the very first time to take on Wes Albritton in his UFC debut. Ortiz was declared victorious via technical knockout, the first of many wins throughout his mixed martial arts career.
The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s success would lead him to a light heavyweight title shot against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 in April of 2000. Ortiz would defeat Silva by unanimous decision and became the new 205-pound champion.
Not only would Ortiz continue to establish himself as one of the best light heavyweights in the world, but he was one of the most outspoken fighters as well. It wasn’t long until Ortiz became known as a fighter who spoke his mind and disrespected his opponents quite often.
While Ortiz may have been one of the best fighters during the early stages of his career, thing’s have quickly changed. No longer is Ortiz a legitimate contender as he’s won just one fight in his last seven outings.
However, one thing that hasn’t changed is Ortiz’s consistency in calling out fellow fighters.
In a recent interview, Ortiz not only called out Rich Franklin, but anyone who would like to square off with him.
Ortiz stated, “100 percent yes. I would love to. I’ve taken fights. Put him in front of me and I’ll fight.” He continued, “Rich Franklin, if you want to get broken off some. I’ll break you off some.”
Ortiz is scheduled to meet Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140 on December 10th, 2011.
After UFC 139’s thrilling main event between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson, UFC 140 features a trio of exciting light heavyweights.Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his title against Lyoto Machida in the event’s headliner.However, …
After UFC 139’s thrilling main event between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson, UFC 140 features a trio of exciting light heavyweights.
Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defends his title against Lyoto Machida in the event’s headliner.
However, before the young phenom brings his exciting style to the Octagon, two additional light heavyweights will set the stage for the night’s main event.
Mauricio Rua engaged fellow Pride vet Dan Henderson in a memorable battle last night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.Coming off of an impressive first round knockout victory over former champion Forrest Griffin, Rua would likely reenter title contention…
Mauricio Rua engaged fellow Pride vet Dan Henderson in a memorable battle last night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Coming off of an impressive first round knockout victory over former champion Forrest Griffin, Rua would likely reenter title contention with another impressive outing against Henderson, though the Brazilian ultimately came up short in a close and contentious bout.
Though he was declared the loser, Rua has gained a lot of steam following the legendary battle with Henderson and the Chute Boxe product can capitalize on that momentum by making his way back to the Octagon sooner rather than later.
Prior to UFC 132, Tito Ortiz made major changes to his training, and part of that positive change was the addition of strength and conditioning coach Michael Giovanni Rivera.Rivera, who’s been an elite trainer in the Orange County, Calif., area for the…
Prior to UFC 132, Tito Ortiz made major changes to his training, and part of that positive change was the addition of strength and conditioning coach Michael Giovanni Rivera.
Rivera, who’s been an elite trainer in the Orange County, Calif., area for the past 10 years helped lead Ortiz to a dominant first-round submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132.
Ortiz is in the midst of training camp for UFC 140, where he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogurira on Dec. 10.
Rivera is contributing a series of blogs in anticipation of Ortiz’ third fight alongside the trainer. Here is a look at some of his insights:
Rivera recaps what it has been like to work with Ortiz leading up to present day.
“It has been crazy to say the least! I was brought on 7 weeks prior to the Bader fight, I had no idea what physical or mental condition Tito was in at that point. It was a very unique story how I started training Tito. I first worked with his girl Jenna Jameson, he came into the gym to see what I was about…
“Ten minutes later we hit it off, (and he) asked me to train him once and go from there.
“So, I show up to Punishment Training Center in Huntington Beach (California) a couple days later. I was setting up my equipment, I noticed the cameras, but didn’t think anything about it. I just thought maybe they were observing or filming his workouts. That’s when Tito walked in and said that they were going to film the countdown for UFC 132 Ortiz vs.Bader.
“At first, I was like I never trained you before, I took it as a challenge (and) I knew that I could succeed. I told Tito ‘I assume your in shape and can handle this workout, you are an elite athlete.’ A hour into it he killed it and so did I. Tito was impressed by my skills, knowledge, and how I mentally reinforced him to be positive. The camera crew asked, what do you want to credit him as? Tito said he is my strength & conditioning coach, lets train 3-4 times a week. I was like wow, this is a crazy day!
“Ever since then it has been non-stop. Training for Bader, then immediately preparing for (Rashad) Evans in a very short amount of time. He was still in great shape for it, but it would have been a different story if we had 10 weeks to get ready for Evans.
“Many people don’t realize I have been always been well known for my training and packed with clients in LA (Los Angeles) & OC (Orange County) for the last 10 years. This opportunity gave me more elite status and exposure, so the public can see I am the real deal.
“I have been familiar with the MMA industry for awhile, but having the opportunity to work with Tito is incredible. He’s probably the most well known MMA fighter out there. Many opportunities and doors have opened up for me since training Tito, I appreciate it so much and I intend to keep pushing the limits!”
Rivera sheds light on the progress Ortiz has made since the pair linked up.
“After that first initial workout we had some work to do, luckily we had 7 weeks to be ready. He progressed quickly. He has great genetics, is a quick learner, and has heart like none other.
“I think that’s why we work so well together. We both have huge hearts and passion for what we do. Tito sees that in me, and I see that in him. He has improved tremendously physically and mentally in many ways. Such as his core strength, which is really important since his prior injuries and surgeries, footwork speed, hand speed, and his overall muscular endurance.
“I think the biggest improvement since I have linked up with him is his mental outlook. He was down about himself, but who can blame him with the current consecutive losses. I knew I could help him. I kept him in a positive mind set. I reinforced a positive mentality in his head every time we trained and I would text him everyday reminding him that he still has that fire in him to succeed in the cage.
“Little by little I saw a change, he was training harder with me, training harder with Jason Parillo, his boxing coach, training harder with Ricardo Abreu, his ground coach. We all saw the transformation in him for the better in and out of the cage.
“I am so proud to see how he is today, a committed MMA fighter who is hungry again, passion for the sport, and the fans love him. They see the change in him and I am so grateful that I was apart of this transformation and have the opportunity to work with him.”
What the experience was like for Rivera to witness Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader this past July at UFC 132.
“That win was epic! It meant so much to us all. As for me, I had a lot of pressure on me, being the new strength & conditioning coach as well as the mental coach. I knew if he had lost his career could have been over and I wouldnʼt be here writing to you about this.
“I trained him with my heart & soul, I gave everything I had. Planned workouts, planned meals, supplements, etc.. There is so much that goes into it that it is unbelievably time consuming. I had a lot of stress on me during that time, my father had recently passed away with cancer in March. So, getting this opportunity with Tito revitalized me.
“When he had that choke in and Bader tapped out, It was the most emotional experience I have ever felt. You can see it on all of our faces. The whole experience from the anticipation in the locker room, to the walk out, and getting the ‘W’ with his hand raised! It made me appreciate all the hard work we did and it payed off! I knew that he could do it, Tito just needed to believe that he could do it, and he did!
“Being positive and believing in yourself is the key to success. You can overcome anything in life if you work hard enough and have faith.”
The progression of training camp at this stage leading up to Ortiz’ UFC 140 main card bout against “Lil Nog.”
“Training camp has been great. We changed things up a bit, because of his opponent Nogueira. Things I don’t want to mention as of now till after the fight. But all I can say (is) Tito is in beast mode. He has mad heart and (he’s) determined to get that hand raised. We will be ready December 10th for UFC 140 in Toronto.”
To learn more about Michael Giovanni Rivera, he can be reached at:
If you missed part I of my interview with “Big” John, you can catch it by clicking here. Watching the fight on the outside is so much different from being inside the Octagon. McCarthy, as big a fan as he is, knew he was there to keep the fighters …
If you missed part I of my interview with “Big” John, you can catch it by clicking here.
Watching the fight on the outside is so much different from being inside the Octagon. McCarthy, as big a fan as he is, knew he was there to keep the fighters safe and ensure a fair fight.
With that being said, when the opportunities arose to kick off his shoes and watch a fight as fan, there were some other fighters who caught his eye along the way.
“What a fan is watching is completely different than what the referee is seeing,” McCarthy explained. “It’s totally different, the referee’s job first and foremost is the safety of the fighters. A lot of times people want to see a great, back and forth fight, and that’s great when it happens, but a referee is to get a guy out of a problem before bad things happen.
“I don’t look at fighters, per se, as who they are and things like that. I like all of the fighters, every fighter I’ve dealt with I like them. There are certain guys who you give credit to as far as what they have done for the sport. When you look at a guy like Chuck Liddell and what he accomplished, how he helped build the sport, I really respect Chuck for that.
“Couture is a phenomenal spokesman for the sport. When everyone was bashing the sport he went out and in a very educated manner, he would make people realize the fights weren’t about anger. They are about competition, nothing but competition. Royce Gracie was a guy who started it, because of how he was built and the doubt people had that he could defeat these larger men, he proved there is technique in MMA.
“Frank Shamrock is a guy I watched grow from a kid, when I first met him he was very immature and juvenile. He is so complete and such a good guy now, he was a great fighter, but an even better person. I think back to his fight with Tito and he knew he had his hands full, but he found Tito’s weakness and capitalized on it. He knew Tito got tired and he pushed him.
“When there was 30 seconds left in each round, Maurice Smith would tell him from his corner, Frank there’s 30 seconds left. It was at that point he would turn it on and make Tito work. He got Tito’s heart rate up at the end of the round. He knew he was better conditioned and that’s how he won that fight.”
Unfortunately life deals us all some peaks and valleys; not everything can go according to plan. Some of us make decisions that we wish we could take back immediately and others don’t realize the mistakes we have made until it’s too late.
McCarthy is just as human as the rest of us and while he seems to have a great outlook on all aspects of life, he too has has some regrets along the way.
“I have some regrets, that’s for sure, I regret all kinds of things,” McCarthy readily admitted. “There are fights where I think I made mistakes and regret what I did, but I’m honest about it and I would never try and cover anything up. I made a mistake, here’s where I made the mistake and I know why I made it. The best thing you can do is work at it so it doesn’t happen again. There are times when I made decisions when I wish I could have gone the other way.
“You just don’t know at the time, hindsight is 20/20 and you don’t realize it at that moment. You look and think that it’s the best thing you could do and you go with it. Whether it’s being a referee or in my personal life, I’ve made mistakes. I try and figure out why I made that particular mistake and try and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“No one likes to admit they have weaknesses, but its part of being a human; it’s what life is about. What says a lot about you is what you do after you’ve made the mistake, it shows who you are and what you do. The problem is when you make excuses or try and cover it up. When you look in the mirror you know you did something wrong, be honest about it and move on.”
Dana White likes to believe that Herb Dean is the best referee working today. That may or not be tied to the decision McCarthy made to retire back in 2007 and take a job as an analyst with the Fight Network. White was not happy about some comments McCarthy made about the UFC and never hid his displeasure.
At the end of the day, McCarthy is the most respected official in the sport and wants to help educate referees and the sport’s judges.
“What I do now is work with officials, anything I can do to help them or set up a system where the officials have to reach a certain level of knowledge and competency is important to me,” stated McCarthy. “It’s more important to the safety of the fighters. I would be more than happy to be part of anything that would help educate the officials and judges protect the fighters and the integrity of the sport.”
McCarthy just turned 49 on October 12 and takes very good care of himself. With the love he has for the sport, we can only hope he plans on staying around for a long time.
After all the lessons he has learned, he knows life is still full of surprises and is grateful for what he has done and what lies in store for the future.
“I walked away in 2007 to do other stuff and I left what I love doing,” McCarthy mentioned. “We spoke about regrets and work is not work when you love what you are doing. That’s what life is about. There are things we like to do and things we don’t like to do, but when you have a job that you love to do it makes life fun. When I am going to quit? I can honestly say I am never going to leave MMA. I’ll stop refereeing when I stop making good decisions or I’m not reacting fast enough. I’ll know when it’s time to go. I can start judging more or do something else, but I’ll always be part of MMA.
“As you get older you learn things, I look back and my life was completely changed by BJJ. I ended up going in a complete different direction than I ever thought I would go in and that’s because of Helio Gracie and BJJ. I was lucky enough to be able to train and roll with Helio. At the time he was an older man and I was always afraid I was going to hurt him, but he would always choke the hell out of me.
“I can think back and remember rolling with Helio and that’s what is important in life. It’s not the money or the things you accumulate, it’s what you do with your life and how you interact with other people. That’s why Helio was so special, look at how many lives he affected. He was an incredible human being. Those were great experiences and that’s what makes life special.”
Bryan Levick is a Featured Columnist for Fighters Magazine and Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @BryanLevick
It was a little over 14 years ago when Tito Ortiz entered the Octagon for the very first time to take on Wes Albritton in his UFC debut. Ortiz was declared victorious via technical knockout, the first of many wins throughout his mixed martial arts career.