By The Numbers: Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz emerged as a key building block for the modern Ultimate Fighting Championship and served as one of the sport’s prominent figures for the better part of a decade. He was a mix of brute force, underrated technique and undeniable charisma.

Never one to shy away from throwing gas on a fire, Ortiz partook in two of the most heated and lucrative rivalries in mixed martial arts history—first against Ken Shamrock and late against Chuck Liddell. A former light heavyweight champion who has compiled a 21-12-1 record across a career that now spans 34 fights, he was enshrined in the pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2012. However, Ortiz remained active long after his induction and last competed under the Combate Global banner a little more than two years ago, when he submitted former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Alberto Rodriguez with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Dec. 7, 2019 encounter.

As the MMA world awaits word on Ortiz’s next move, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied him to this point:

46: Years of age for Ortiz, who was born on Jan. 23, 1975 in Huntington Beach, California.

10: Ortiz wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 48% of his career total. His list of victims includes Liddell, Evan Tanner, Guy Mezger and Shamrock—a man he victimized on three separate occasions. Ortiz owns five other wins by submission and six more by decision.

33: Takedowns completed by Ortiz as a UFC light heavyweight, putting him sixth on the organization’s all-time list at 205 pounds. He trails Corey Anderson (53), Rashad Evans (50), Ryan Bader (46), Jon Jones (42) and Patrick Cummins (35).

3: Sub-minute stoppage victories to Ortiz’s credit. He buried Wes Albritton with punches in 13 seconds at UFC 13 on May 30, 1997, struck Jeremy Screeton into submission with knees in 16 seconds at West Coast NHB Championships 1 on Dec. 8, 1998 and slammed Evan Tanner senseless in 32 seconds at UFC 30 on Feb. 23, 2001.

21: Calendar years in which Ortiz has fought at least once. He went 1-1 in 1997, 1-0 in 1998, 2-1 in 1999, 2-0 in 2000, 3-0 in 2001, 1-0 in 2002, 0-1 in 2003, 1-1 in 2004, 1-0 in 2005, 3-1 in 2006, 0-0-1 in 2007, 0-1 in 2008, 0-1 in 2009, 1-0 in 2010, 1-2 in 2011, 0-1 in 2012, 2-0 in 2014, 0-1 in 2015, 1-0 in 2017, 1-0 in 2018 and 1-0 in 2019.

1,260: Days spent by Ortiz as UFC light heavyweight champion. He captured the title with a five-round unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 on April 14, 2000 and successfully defended it five times before being dethroned by Randy Couture at UFC 44 on Sept. 26, 2003. Ortiz’s stay at the top ranks as the third-longest single reign in the history of the 205-pound weight class behind Jones (1,501 days) and Daniel Cormier (1,315 days).

1: Stalemate on the Ortiz resume. He fought to a unanimous draw with the aforementioned Evans at UFC 73 in 2007.

1,241: Total strikes landed by Ortiz as a UFC light heavyweight, placing him fourth on the promotion’s all-time list at 205 pounds. Only Jones (1,835), Glover Teixeira (1,342) and Mauricio Rua (1,262) have connected with more.

5: Promotions in which Ortiz has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 15-11-1 in the UFC, 3-1 in Bellator MMA, 1-0 in the West Coast NHB Championships, 1-0 in Golden Boy MMA and 1-0 in Combate Global.

.682: Cumulative winning percentage between the 10 men—Evans, Couture, Liddell (twice), Forrest Griffin (twice), Liam McGeary, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Matt Hamill, Lyoto Machida, Frank Shamrock and Guy Mezger—who have defeated Ortiz. They sport a combined record of 206-91-5.