Move over, “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”
It's “The People's Champ.”
That's the new nickname the UFC's Tito Ortiz says he now prefers over his old one.
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“I signed over 15,000 autographs last weekend at the UFC fan expo,”
Ortiz reportedly told ESPN's Jon Robinson. “The first
day I stood there for seven and a half hours. The second day I was there
for over six hours. They had to kick me out. It was a lot of fun.”
One way “The People's Champ” is proving to be a true people's champ? Going on Twitter (@tittoortiz) and letting MMA fans know he's about to play Call of Duty: Black Ops so they can join him. “A lot of people
talk trash to me while we play and we just have a great time,” Ortiz tells Robinson.
Of course, the person “The People's Champ” still must impress–other than Jenna Jameson, his girlfriend depending on how the wind's blowing (easy . . .)–is UFC president Dana White. After beating Ryan Bader at UFC 132 for his first victory since October 2006, Ortiz agreed to serve as a last-minute substitute to meet Rashad Evans a month later at UFC 133, where Ortiz lost the bout despite an impressive showing.
White, who'd said Ortiz should retire from the octagon if he lost to Bader, was asked if Ortiz should do the same if he loses to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 140.
“Yeah, I don't know,” replied White (via 5th Round). “Again, I don't like answering those questions before a fight. I was impressed with Tito's last fight-he goes in and he beats Bader, he puts on an awesome showing against Rashad. But, we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for “The People's Champ.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.