UFC 133 Fight Card: The 10 Best Moments of Tito Ortiz's Career

At UFC 132, legions of fans leapt to their feet when Tito Ortiz felled Ryan Bader with a powerful right hand. Tito closed the deal with a guillotine choke, and just like that, the feeding tubes were pulled from Tito Ortiz's career. 

Just like that, the washed-up heel was the feel-good hero.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ortiz capitalized on the wave of good will by replacing Phil Davis in UFC 133's main event. As a result, he'll face top light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans this Saturday.

It's not inconceivable that a win over Evans would vault the 36-year-old Ortiz--thought just six weeks ago to be nearing the end of his 14-year run in the UFC--into the title picture.

As fight night nears for the former champion, I submit for your consideration the 10 best moments of Ortiz's career.

10. Tito Cleans Up the Janitor

Vladimir Matyushenko was, and is, an extremely dangerous grappler. So when Ortiz used his ground-and-pound to control The Janitor en route to a unanimous decision win and fourth title defense at UFC 33, it was clear who MMA's best wrestler really was.

9. Ortiz-Shamrock II

A smoldering rivalry that built to a five-alarm blaze over the course of season three of "The Ultimate Fighter" erupted in a firestorm of Tito Ortiz elbows that left old lion Shamrock humbled and beaten.

Though their third and final bout was also a quick stoppage win for Ortiz, it held relatively little intrigue given this result from UFC 61 and the clear fact that Shamrock was well past his prime.

8. Ortiz Pounds out Guy Mezger

In a lot of ways, this fight turned Tito Ortiz into the Huntington Beach Bad Boy.

At UFC 13, Mezger defeated Ortiz by guillotine choke. At UFC 19, Ortiz had his revenge.

A much-improved Ortiz earned the TKO over the Lion's Den fighter and Ken Shamrock protege. I believe this was not the first time Ortiz and Shamrock would clash.

Afterward, Ortiz donned a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch." Hey, speaking of which...

7. "Dana Is My Bitch"

To understand Tito Ortiz, one must understand that controversy is a key part of his business model.

When he rocked this getup in 2008, business was good.

It didn't just fuel a momentous feud with UFC President Dana White. It didn't just cause a stir over profanity. It tapped into a vein of anti-White sentiment, and in the process helped reinforce Ortiz's status as the UFC's great anti-hero. It's a role he excels in, and continues to this day to play to the hilt.

6. Tito Puts the Slam on Tanner

A shade over 30 seconds into the opening stanza, Ortiz scooped up Tanner and slammed him to the ground. Tanner lost concsiousness. End of fight.

It was, for my money, the nastiest knockout of Ortiz's career, and it came against strong competition in Tanner. It was also Tito's second consecutive defense of the UFC light heavyweight title.

5. The Jenna Jameson Thing

Oh, you thought Tito Ortiz was in the fight business? 

I'm of the opinion that he's in the being-famous business.

Nothing wrong with that. His extraordinarily well-publicized relationship with the ex-adult film actress, which started in 2006, undisputably launched him to a new level of national notoriety. And if you don't think it was a great career moment as well as a personal milestone for Tito, then you and I are at loggerheads.

4. The Apprentice

Once again displaying a knack for parlaying one success into another, in 2008, Ortiz used his newfound mainstream fame to land a spot on Celebrity Apprentice. It made him one of MMA's most recognizable faces outside the sport's core fan base.

3. The Ryan Bader Upset

This was covered in the intro and ad nauseum elsewhere, but suffice it to say that it is one of the great career comebacks in UFC history and gives Ortiz's story a Couturesque redemption.

2. Tito Tops Wandy

In 2000, Tito defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 in Tokyo to capture the light heavyweight title. At the time, Silva was riding a six-fight win streak and was considered unbeatable in the stand-up phase.

Good thing for Ortiz that there's more than one phase in MMA.

1. Defeats Ken Shamrock at UFC 40

What did Tito Ortiz accomplish in this fight?

Well, he defeated Ken Shamrock by corner stoppage, added another chapter to a budding and epic rivalry, became the face of MMA and helped bring the UFC out of the so-called "dark ages."

Oh, and he defended his light heavyweight title for the fifth and final time—a record for the division that still stands.

Not a bad day's work.