Tito Ortiz

Back on Monday, TMZ.com broke the news that UFC fighter Tito Ortiz had been arrested after his wife, retired porn actress Jenna Jameson called the police alleging that he had assaulted her. Photogs (he said, trying to sound like a real blogger) captured both the arrest, and Jameson's departure from their house, sporting large sunglasses and a bandaged elbow.

Now, celebrity gossip doesn't usually float my boat (not that I want to denigrate spousal abuse to the level of watercooler chat [for the record, the watercooler at my work is filthy, and has never been a place of social intercourse]), but for some reason I cared about this story. The easy answer would be that it's because I'm a fan of the UFC and am likely to get caught up in any of its gossip. That probably has something to do with it, but I couldn't have cared less when Ultimate Fighter 4 fighter Jon Koppenhaver, after deciding to make the transition into porn ran wild at a co-star's party, resulting in a warrant for his arrest. No, I think it's got something more to do with Tito.

Since I first came to watching UFC in mid-2008, during Ortiz's hiatus from the company, I had little idea who "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" was. Without ever seeing him for myself, my opinions of Ortiz were entirely formed by the comments of Chuck Liddell (who hates him), Dana White (who hated him at the time), and others recounting the stories of his antics. The first familiar face I knew in the UFC was Ken Shamrock, and, being loyal to the WWF guy (before I saw enough of Shamrock to dislike him) sided with Shamrock in his feud with Ortiz. Compound this all together, and despite never watching him perform, speak, or fight, I thought Tito was a douche.

Then I watched The Ultimate Fighter 3, where he takes on a coaching role opposite Shamrock. In the series, Ortiz's coaching style is shown to be infinitely better than Shamrock's. While Shamrock takes his team bowling, Ortiz is pushing his to their bodies' threshholds. While Shamrock focuses on personal grievances and pride, Ortiz focuses on improving his fighters and building a strong team. Having seen most of the other seasons, I think Tito was probably the best coach the series ever had.

So why didn't it suprise me when I heard that Tito beat up his wife? Immediately, I mentally compiled a list of the frustrations in his life, including a neck injury that had kept him out of competition from May 2008 until November 2009. Add to that that Ortiz lost his first fight after returning. Add to that the fact that, despite being signed as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 11, Internet rumours (as well as the confirmation of a Chuck Liddell/Rich Franklin bout) are speculating that something happens during the course of the season which forces Ortiz out of his duties, to be replaced by Franklin. For a man who was once considered the best Light Heavyweight fighter in the world, debilitating injury and almost half a decade without a win on his record couldn't possibly come without stress and frustration. By no means do I wish to excuse the alleged abuse, I'm just saying that, with my limited knowledge of Ortiz's professional life, I can understand it.

Then the press conference happened. The day after the incident, a video was released (which I found on Sherdog.com) which showed Tito and a representative denying the incident.

 

In it, the representative throws a new idea into the discussion. Muddled among his terrible public speaking is an allegation that Jameson has been battling an addiction to OxyContin, and that Ortiz's confrontation of Jameson regarding a relapse is what prompted her to call the police. The logic behind the statements smells kind of like slander, particularly the line "We're here because Tito was trying to help her," but when Ortiz gets the mic, his voice cracks with what sounds like sincere disappointment and sorrow.

Watching the new episode of The Ultimate Fighter didn't help. I don't know if he did beat up his wife, but I do know that on last night's episode, Ortiz showed the same passion and compassion to his team that made him my favourite coach. He apologizes to a guy that he had been riding unfairly, he sincerely congratulates a man who beat a member of Ortiz's own team, and all the while I couldn't decide whether I was thinking 'why did you do it?' or 'of course you didn't do it.' The only thing that I know for sure is that I care a lot more than I should.