Pioneers of MMA: Tito Ortiz

Vendetta

By mid-2002, the UFC was losing money by the bucketload and the Fertitta brothers were close to breaking point. They decided to go with one last roll of the dice and managed to sign Ken Shamrock – fresh from a return to MMA in PRIDE – to fight Ortiz, re-igniting the feud that had begun back in 1999.

The match was booked for November’s UFC 40, a show that was titled ‘Vendetta’ and for good reason. And right away it looked like the Fertittas’ gamble was going to pay off. The feud garnered mainstream attention that was unheard of for the UFC at that point, with segments appearing on ESPN, USA Today, and Fox Sports’, ‘Best Damn Sports Show Period’.

Fans today like to poke fun at Ortiz’s mic work, but back in 2002 – as the villainous, arrogant villain to Shamrock’s virtuous MMA legend with a short fuse – he was perfect.

Despite Shamrock’s fearsome reputation, it was Ortiz who came out on top of the pivotal contest. This time he displayed improved kickboxing, battering Shamrock standing before using his trademark takedowns and ground-and-pound. After the third round ended, Ken was unable to continue.

The show drew 150k buys, a figure way above the numbers that the previous Zuffa-promoted UFC shows had garnered. It proved to the Fertittas that the UFC was a viable commodity, and it also proved that Tito Ortiz was the biggest draw in the sport.

It also led to another pioneering action from the Huntington Beach Bad Boy.