“A Test for Heart Fighting…”: 11 Years Later, Tito Ortiz Opens Up About His Loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148

Die-hard fans of the UFC might remember the fight between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin that happened a long time ago. Ortiz and Griffin faced each other at UFC 148 in 2012. The fight was the most memorable event for all the fans of Ortiz because he declared that it was his last bout in the Octagon. Ortiz decided to retire from his fifteen-year-long fighting career, and the fight was indeed his retirement party for the fans. However, years later, the 47 years old finally talked about the match through his social media handle.

It was unfortunate for everyone to witness Ortiz lose; however, he feels otherwise. ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ faced a lot of injuries prior to the fight, and he was battling with himself to push harder to fight better.

Tito Ortiz writes about his injuries

On his Instagram, the former light heavyweight champion posted a video of the fight between him and Griffin. It was the caption under the post that revealed the health condition of Ortiz while fighting back then. The 47-years old captioned his Instagram post, “The first three fights with @forrestgriffin Also a test of heart fighting injured. Partial tear of my ACL during camp but the fight must go on! Great fight”.

The American fighter wrote about his injuries and how challenging it was for him to compete. Nonetheless, he is proud of himself for giving it his all and fighting until round three, where he was defeated by a unanimous decision. Even though Ortiz lost the match, his moves left the crowd very impressed.

Griffin‘s reckless acts caused a number of dramatic events to occur after the battle. The spectators gasped as they saw Griffin leave the octagon soon after the match before the result was declared. 

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On the day that Ortiz announced his retirement, Griffin wanted to command all the attention. The UFC president, Dana White, had to call Griffin back to the octagon to put an end to the match. 

The MMA legend

The Combate Americas promotion currently has a contract with ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’. Ortiz joined Bellator MMA after leaving the UFC, where he had been the light heavyweight champion for three years. He gained a lot more fame because he was one of Bellator MMA’s first big names. The champion took his hand at boxing after spending his prime years competing in MMA for the UFC and Bellator.

In 2021, he made his professional boxing debut. The former UFC middleweight champion. Anderson Silva was his opponent. Silva won the first round of the fight via knockout. The MMA legend has now declared that he will compete in his final fight in 2023, effectively ending his MMA career.

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