Tito Ortiz -- Working People

HE IS

The Bad Boy of Huntington Beach.

RECLAIMING HIS ROOTS

Ortiz learned to fight on the streets of Huntington Beach, where he was

born and raised, but he said it was his ambition that saved him.

Now he spends more time avoiding fights.

“I’ve matured a lot,” he said. “The ‘Bad Boy’ image is just a

character. In the ring, I’m cocky and aggressive because that’s what

sells.”

Although the 200-pound fighter hopes to win the Ultimate Fighting World

Championship in New Orleans on Sept. 24 by defeating champion Frank

Shamrock, his ultimate goal is to give back to his community.

“Even if I make millions of dollars, I still want to help kids,” he

said.

IMMORTAL COMBAT

At his Huntington Street apartment, the bleached-blond 24-year-old said

it takes more than brawn to win a match.

“I use a lot of visualization when I train, going over possible moves

and defenses in my mind,” he said.

In the ring, he must counter unpredictable combinations of wrestling,

boxing, kick boxing and martial arts by his opponents.

Ultimate fighting started in 1993 and has grown in popularity but,

because of its violent nature, many television stations do not broadcast

it. Unlike the World Wrestling Federation, where fighters are paid to

perform staged moves, ultimate fighting is real, Ortiz said, and anyone

who participates risks serious injury.

SAVING GRACE

Ortiz started his fighting career on the wrestling team at Huntington

Beach High School. The sport kept him off the streets most of the time,

Ortiz said.

“I was in special education classes in high school,” he said. “Most

teachers, when they see a kid like me, see a Bad Boy and decide not to

waste their time. Those are the kids I want to pick up. They look up to

me, and I want to make sure they stay in school.”

When he’s not training for one of four annual fights, Ortiz is earning

his bachelor’s degree in physical education with a minor in special

education from Cal State Fullerton. When he retires from fighting in a

few years, Ortiz said he’ll take on teaching.

When Ortiz joined the wresting team, two former high school friends

joined a local gang and now are serving 15 to 20-year prison sentences,

he said.

“They had too much time on their hands,” he said. “They weren’t bad

people, they were just lost and insecure. They got sucked in by older

kids who brainwashed them. Eventually, someone got shot.”

A teacher, Tom Wyman, inspired Ortiz to avoid gangs and think about his

future.

“He spent so much time and energy on me,” he said. “I pretended not to

care, but deep down, I was listening.”

Ortiz still visits Wyman.

“I hope he’ll look back on his life someday and know that, of all the

kids he couldn’t help, he saved at least one,” he said.

THE TASTE OF VICTORY

Raul Duarte, a coach at Golden West College, was another mentor who

helped the aspiring athlete, recruiting him back into sports after Ortiz

spent two aimless years after high school, Ortiz said.

In 1995, Ortiz placed second at the Junior College State Championship,

and the next year he was undefeated. In 1997, Cal State Bakersfield

recruited Ortiz, and he fought in competitions every weekend until he

injured his leg during a fight.

“That’s when I realized I was killing myself and not even getting paid

for it,” he said.

When he recovered, Ortiz began to train to become an ultimate fighter,

a job that would pay up to $75,000 a match. His first gig was in Brazil,

where he caught the attention of ultimate fans around the world.

His career culminated in Jan. 1999, when Ortiz won a fight against top

dog Jerry Bollander in New Orleans.

“I was so nervous,” Ortiz said. “Everyone thought he was going to catch

me in a submission, but he never hit me once.”

Ortiz celebrated by proposing to his girlfriend of six years on the

beach in Baja California.

“She said yes, and we both cried,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it.

This has been the best year of my life.”