Tito ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ Ortiz, also known as ‘The People’s Champ’, is the former UFC light heavyweight champion of the world and really the first true star in the early days of MMA.

For the past few years he has found a new life for his career inside the Bellator cage where he holds victories over former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko as well as fellow UFC hall of famer Stephan Bonnar.

Tito also looked very good in his last outing for the Bellator title against Liam McGeary and looked like the Tito of old, unleashing his trademark brutal ground and pound before getting caught in slick submission.

Tito, who is now 41, is having his last ever MMA fight against the always tough Chael Sonnen on January 21st at Bellator 170 and it will truly be the end of an era for such a legendary figure like Ortiz.

In preparation for his bout with Sonnen, Tito mixed it up a bit with NFL star and freak athlete Shawn ‘Lights Out’ Merriman. And while it appears to be more ‘movement’ sparring than full out which is smart given how close it is to the fight as well as how susceptible Tito has been to injuries in the past.

Regardless, Shawn Merriman doesn’t look too bad moving around in there and it would certainly be interesting to see how an athlete of his caliber would do if he ever decided to make the transition to MMA.

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ABOUT TITO ORTIZ:
Jacob Christopher “Tito” Ortiz (born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist fighting for Bellator MMA. In the MMA world, he is known for his stint 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. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sports early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock. [Source: Wiki]