Tito Ortiz Joins Pantheon Of Octagon® Greats As Former UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion Inducted Into UFC Hall Of Fame

LAS VEGAS, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization is proud to confirm that Tito Ortiz - the longest-reigning light heavyweight champion of all time and one of the biggest personalities in the sport of mixed martial arts - will be the ninth individual to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120628/LA32828)

Ortiz will be officially inducted at midday on July 7 at the UFC Fan Expo, meaning he will fight the final bout of his 15-year career against old nemesis Forrest Griffin at UFC 148 on July 7 as a confirmed UFC Hall of Famer. Ortiz is the first inductee since 2010, and joins Matt Hughes, MMA pioneer Charles 'Mask' Lewis, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn as well as contemporaries Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture in the pantheon of Octagon immortals.  

"It is a huge honor to be recognized as one of the greatest fighters of all time by the UFC," Ortiz said. "To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is final proof that all the hard work and dedication, all the pain and sacrifices, were all worth it. To be able to walk to the Octagon one last time as an official UFC Hall of Fame level fighter is going to be humbling and awesome. I'm very grateful to have this opportunity to end my career on such a high like this.

"I want to thank my family for all their love and support and my fans for sticking with me through the bad times when being a Tito Ortiz fan wasn't the coolest thing to be. Finally, I want to thank Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White for giving me so many opportunities over the years and for securing the future of the sport I love and have dedicated my life to."

A brash, polarizing presence with bleached blonde hair and devastating takedowns, Ortiz made his UFC debut on May 30, 1997 at UFC 13. He smashed an entrant named Wes Albritton in 31 seconds and, within three years, had annexed the UFC light heavyweight title by beating the also soon-to-be legendary Wanderlei Silva. The Huntington Beach Bad Boy would go on to reign for a record three and a half years and had some of the biggest fights of his or any other era.

UFC President Dana White said: "Everyone knows the story of me and Tito and all the things that went on between us. A lot of it wasn't fun at the time, but all that controversy and craziness is now part of the story of the UFC, and there's no question that in his prime he was a huge star and one of the greats of his era.

"You can't write the story of this era of mixed martial arts without Tito Ortiz, and that's why he belongs in the Hall of Fame. He's been in the UFC for 15 years - and sticking around that long is an achievement in itself - and now he's down to just 15 minutes at UFC 148. Believe me, I know how proud and stubborn this guy is and I expect him to use everything he has left as a fighter to go out as a winner at UFC 148."

UFC Chairman & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said: "Tito is part of the fabric of our sport and of the history of our company. He's given his life to mixed martial arts and gave all of us some hugely memorable moments as both a fighter and a personality outside the Octagon. He was a lock to go into the UFC Hall of Fame at some point, and I'm happy we could make this happen now so he gets to enter the Octagon for the final time as a reigning Hall of Famer. I think this will be an emotional goodbye for Tito and one final special moment for his fans."

Ortiz aims to leave UFC 148 - and his career - as a winner.

"My name will probably always be linked with guys like Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell and especially Ken Shamrock," Ortiz said. "But the fights with Forrest were as good and competitive as any of them. When I first fought him, he was inexperienced and made a name for himself in doing so well against me. The next time we fought I was supposed to be over the hill, and I showed that I wasn't finished by long shot.

"Now, I just want to prove I was the better fighter all along by winning the rubber match. I don't want to go out on a sour note - I want everyone's last image of me to be me in the center of the Octagon with my hand raised."

UFC® 148: SILVA vs. SONNEN II will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer's Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Broadcast Quality Video Clip: http://pdvid.ufc.tv/2012/06/15/TitoInterview.zip

YouTube Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DycDPo1AOrU

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.

In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.

SOURCE Ultimate Fighting Championship