Tito Ortiz  Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000, to September 26, 2003, and Bellator MMA. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport’s early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock. Ortiz is the CEO of Punishment Athletics MMA equipment and clothing line. He also owns an MMA training gym called Punishment Training Center, which is located in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California. On July 7, 2012, Ortiz became the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. Ortiz was born in Huntington Beach, California, where he lived until he moved to Santa Ana, California at the age of five. He is the son of Joyce and Samuel Ortiz. His father is of Mexican descent and his mother is of French and Portuguese ancestry. Ortiz was given the nickname "Tito" by his father at the age of one. Ortiz has three older half-brothers from his mother's first marriage to Louie Simmons. Ortiz had a difficult childhood: both of his parents were addicted to heroin, while Ortiz was involved with street gangs, was placed in juvenile halls, and used drugs such as cocaine and PCP. His parents divorced when he was thirteen years old, and his mother took the young Ortiz with her back to Huntington Beach. When he was only seven years old, Ortiz supported himself by selling fish that he caught at a local pier and later attended Huntington Beach High School, where he began wrestling during his sophomore year. He excelled at the sport, winning a CIF championship at 189 pounds, and finishing fourth in the state tournament as a senior. When Ortiz was eighteen years old, his mother kicked him out of the house and he began living with one of his brothers while doing labor work, and later became addicted to methamphetamines. At the age of nineteen, Ortiz ran into an old high school wrestling coach, a future UFC fighter and the head wrestling coach at Golden West College, Paul Herrera, who encouraged him to enroll in the college. Ortiz then began attending Golden West, where he was a California junior college state champion and All-American for two consecutive years before transferring California State University at Bakersfield, where he continued wrestling but was never a full-time starter.