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Tito Ortiz: Countdown to Destruction
Interview by Benny Henderson Jr. (October 9th, 2004)



On October 22nd at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, it will be “The War of ‘04” when the punishing ‘Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ Tito Ortiz takes on archrival and seasoned veteran Guy Mezger.

Ortiz is on his road back to the belt, and now he revisits the path he took the first time as he faces Mezger for the third time in his seven-year career. Both have a win over each other and this will be the rubber match that will surely be the most brutal meeting of the two.

In 1997, the young Ortiz faced Mezger at ‘UFC 13 - The Ultimate Force’ and suffered the first defeat of his career in round one when Mezger administered a guillotine choke that sent the future UFC superstar into submission.

Three fights later Ortiz got his revenge on Mezger at ‘UFC XIX - Ultimate Young Guns’ when he put a hurting on Guy that ended the bout in round one with a TKO via strikes.

This time it is personal, and after Ortiz lost his last two bouts he is more than determined to show the UFC world that Tito Ortiz is not finished, he isn’t a loser, he means business, and that this time he is hungry and will take his fighting abilities to the next level.

Benny Henderson Jr. - How has your training been going?

Tito Ortiz - It is going really really good. It has been going on now almost three months and it is nonstop training; just getting in shape and fine-tuning all of my tools. These last couple of weeks have just been fine-tuning everything. I am in great shape, like always; I always come in great shape. My cardio is like always and really good. Wrestling has been good and my boxing has actually been a lot better with my kickboxing mixed in. I have been really pushing myself so I can get the best out of it.

BH - Give us some of your thoughts on your upcoming opponent Guy Mezger.

TO - It is really going to be a tough bout. I think it is going to be a hard match because Guy is a seasoned fighter. He is a person who trains all the time and he always gives tough fights to everybody he has ever fought. He has always fought the top guys in the world and it seems like he really is a tough opponent for me. A lot of people say, “Yah, you got a gimme fight.” It is never a gimme fight; I still have to go in there and win, and more than anything I have to stick to my game plan, make sure that I fight to the tempo that I always do and try to push him through each and every round and see if he can handle Tito Ortiz.

BH - What is your training regimen?

TO - I go three times a day. I train at twelve o’clock in the afternoon and once again at seven o’clock at night, and then I finish up my last training in cardio around ten o’clock at night. I have pretty much anywhere from six to eight hours six days a week of pushing myself. I just try to get myself in the best possible shape I can be in.

BH - You lost your last two UFC bouts; does that put more pressure on you mentally going into this bout?

TO - I think it puts a lot of pressure on me but I always fight well under pressure. Whenever I do fight under pressure it brings out the best out of me. More than anything, having my last two losses were just like, I don’t know - I don’t think I was as focused as I normally am. I think if I have the focus like I do now, I should do really, really well just because of how hard I pushed myself in the gym. I haven’t had any injuries - my last couple of fights I had my back injury and of course my knee was kind of bothering me a little bit. But now it is like everything is kept to a T and training has gone really, really well, and for once I am injury free.

BH - Out of all your wins, is there one that is your most favorite or most significant to you?

TO - Actually there are a couple of them. One I always like to look over and was real happy with myself for doing it was when I fought Wanderlei Silva and I beat him for the belt. I stuck to my game plan and won by sticking to my game plan. And the next fight that I think showed all my skills and showed all my weapons was when I fought Ken Shamrock. I pretty much let everything go and didn’t hesitate on anything. I let my hands go and my knees go, my elbows, takedowns - I pretty much did what I wanted to do when I did it. I hope in this match I will do the same thing too. It just seems like when I am focused like I usually am I do well, and in this matchup I am really focused.

BH - What are your disciplines?

TO - I came from a wrestling background; I wrestled in college. And then as I got into this I started learning Jiu-Jitsu, and then kickboxing and boxing were the next two that I started learning. And of course cardio weight training was a must. In this sport you have to be really well rounded; you have to be kind of like a Rubik’s Cube. I have to make sure that all of my colors are in the match when it is time to fight.

BH - What inspired you to get into this sport?

TO - I’d say the competition. I love to compete and it was a sport that I could possibly be good at because I had wrestling abilities. I have always been into new challenges and it seemed like the more I pushed myself in Ultimate Fighting the better I became, and in a year and a half I became a world champion. It seems like someone gave me a gift and I have to thank God for that, because God gave me a gift and I have to use it to its full capacity. It seems like in every person’s trail in life you have trial and error. And my last couple of losses were my errors and I have to prove myself as the kind of champion I am in coming back and get my belt back.

BH - Fighting these battles, they are hellish wars. You just tear each other up in the octagon. Do you ever make it personal?

TO - It never used to be personal, but now it is personal. I look in there, it is competition yes, but at the same time I am fighting for my life. I have a little boy who is two, and I am making sure that he has everything that I never had in life. So it just seems like I am fighting for my family now, fighting for myself, and for all of my fans. There is a lot of pressure on my shoulders but more that anything I try to succeed to the fullest and push myself in practice each and every day, waking up every morning and wanting to train. I have that hunger that I once had and I have to keep my mind focused, and then training is not a problem and fighting is fun.

BH - What do you feel your best quality is as a fighter?

TO - Has to be my heart, man. I have one of the biggest hearts I think in the sport besides a couple of other fighters. And I never forget to learn; I keep my mind open and I’m never ignorant to any other martial arts and I’m willing to learn to improve myself.

BH - If somebody came up to you and said “Yo Tito, I am thinking about getting into the UFC,” what advice would you give them?

TO - Make sure you train really really hard. Look into each and every sport as in boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and collegiate wrestling. I think one of the main things in Ultimate Fighting is collegiate wrestling. I think that is one of the basics you have to have. Work hard and never quit and always reach for your dreams.

BH - I know you stay focused on one opponent at a time. But after this fight, is there anybody in particular you want to step in to octagon with?

TO - Well Ken Shamrock has been opening his mouth. I heard him on the Best Damn Sports Show talking about that he would like to have a rematch with me and this and that. And after he fought Kimo at the press conference he kept opening his mouth and saying that he would give me a beating. So I would like to see a Tito Ortiz versus Ken Shamrock II. That would be great or possibly Tito Ortiz versus Vitor Belfort. It really doesn’t matter to me; I just want to fight. I’m sick of waiting. It has been April since I fought and I’m sick of being on the burner waiting to fight. I just want to get some fights over with and I want to be active in the UFC and let my fans see the best of Tito Ortiz.

BH - What do you feel the future holds for Tito Ortiz?

TO - It has to be winning my world title back. That title belongs around my waist and it seems like I have a little test in front of me. I want to see how much better I have gotten and how much more I need to improve to become the world champion once again.

BH - Anything you want to add to this interview or say to the fans?

TO - I want to thank all the fans for giving me support with the last couple of losses and I will be back on top once again. It is just a matter of time. I keep my head up and I’m still working hard. I have the hunger back once again to compete and become the world champion once again.