Mr. Heel Hook

Q: Just like Rick Flear [?]

Tito: Yes. (laughing) But he was so persistent that I lost my temper and finally accepted the fight. He was big. When he took off a shirt, a muscular body like Ken Shamrock came into my sight.. (laughing) . I was scared a little bit, but knocked him down with three blows, choked him, and smashed him up against the wall. It was finished within three minutes. The blood was everywhere, but nobody complained to me. I got out of the club without any punishment.

Q: Cool! When did it happen?

Tito: Well, I guess it was about four years ago.

Q: It is quite recent, isn't it? Excepting a fight story, I heard that you were fighting while doing a part time job at a porno shop when you were an unknown fighter. Is it true?

Tito: Yes, it's true. When I just started fighting, they really took care of me in many ways. The fight money was not enough for a living at that time. I worked only six hours a day, five days a week, but they paid me a lot. They also supported me in various ways such as making my own card. I still have a lot of gratitude for them. Nothing wrong about working at a porno shop. I wonder why everybody looks down on porno shops in spite of liking sex very much.

Q: After all, it seems like your young days can be described by "fights and women".

Tito: Apart from women, I was rough for sure. All my friends were members of gang, and I did fights all the time. But when I saw them caught by the police and sent to the prison, I thought I didn't want to be like them. Life is short, so I wanted to get out of the condition I was in, and have the best life.

Q: UFC was the best place for you who were struggling to get out of your terribly rough life, wasn't it?

Tito: Yes, it was. The fight of NHB led me to the right way.

Q: Let's back to your fighting. Now that you did a perfect win against Kondo, the ace of Pancrase, attention is paid to your next opponent. Yesterday you said, "if there is anyone who wants to do a rematch with me, stand in the end of the line!" Don't you have intention to fight with Kondo again?

Tito: No, I don't for now. There are many fighters other than Kondo who want to challenge me, and I myself want to fight with more and more strong fighters. So if Kondo defeat a fighter whom everybody considers strong, I will give him a chance for a rematch with me.

Q: Then if Takahashi Yoshiki of Pancrase challenged you as revenge for Kondo, what would you do?

Tito: Takahashi.... I watched his fight with Wallid Ismail. He is tough. I want to fight with him. In fact, it is not officially determined yet, but I might fight with him in March in Japan.

Q: What? Is it true?

Tito: It is convenient for me, because I wanted to fight with a Japanese fighter. There are top-level fighters of the world gathering in Japan now.

Q: So, regardless of weight, could you pick up Japanese fighters whom you consider strong?

Tito: First who comes into my mind is Sakuraba! Tamura and Kondo follow him. These three are all great.

Q: What about Takahashi? (laughing)

Tito: Oh! I forgot about him. (laughing) His fighting spirit is equally good to those three, so it will be a good fight, I think.

Q: But still, I didn't expect you to mention Tamura.

Tito: He is a great fighter, because he defeated Renzo by decision of judges. We are fighting in organizations with different rules, so it might be difficult to realize our fight. But I want to fight with him.

Q: You said after the fight with Kondo that you wanted to fight with Sakuraba or Renzo. Apart from Sakuraba, Renzo was defeated by Tamura and Sakuraba. But is he still attractive to you?

Tito: Of course. Renzo was defeated only by the top-level fighters in the world. It means he is still a top fighter. In the fight with Tamura, the decision by judges was very close, and one more defeat is by Sakuraba. That's all, isn't it? Sakuraba is the best in the world! Renzo fought with him, who is the best in the world, evenly or more than that until he was caught with the arm-lock in the end. In that sense, he is a great fighter. Sakuraba is a fighter whom I want to fight with most. But I think it's impossible, because he has a contract with Pride. If so, I want to fight with Renzo.

Q: It seems that you have three more fights left in your contract with UFC. I think the only way to fight with Sakuraba or Renzo for you is to come up the ring of Pride. Don't you have any plan to go in Pride after the contract with UFC is over?

Tito: It's possible, if it's necessary to fight with Sakuraba. Regarding Renzo, however, I think I can fight with him in UFC in the near future. I'm sure that he will come to UFC.

Q: If the fight Tito vs. Renzo is realized, it will be great! But except for that fight, there is no any opponent who can fight with you in UFC, is it?

Tito: Whoever comes to me, I will beat him up. And It is said that Kevin Randleman (the former UFC heavy-class champion) will change the class to the middle. It is OK with me to fight with him, if he continues to fight in the middle class from now on. But I think he will be back to the heavy class some day. That's is the way such a guy does.

Q: Well then, for you who are the world top five in the middle class?

Tito: Let me see.... First, the top is Sakuraba, and next is me.

Q: Do you admit that Sakuraba is better than you who is the champion of UFC?

Tito: Yes, I do at this moment. He has left a great result so far. But I promise that I will go beyond him in the near future. And I think Frank Shamrock, Dan Henderson, Renzo or Tamura will follow me. If Randleman can lose weight, he will also join us.

Q: What about Rickson Gracie? Can't he be one of the top five?

Tito: Rickson? I'm eager to fight with him. If the fight between Rickson and me is realized in Japan, I will get fond of Japanese people much more than I do now. But I think he will never fight with me. If he fights with me, his fate will be the same as Kondo. No, he will get more bloody. That's why he will never, never, never fight with me! If he has enough courage to fight with me, he is worth being respected only for that. But he is afraid of me. He calls himself "the strongest in the world", doesn't he? Then why doesn't he fight with me, who is the world champion and always ready to fight with him? I never think that he is the strongest. The strongest is Sakuraba. He is the best. So defeating Sakuraba is a goal for me. It's easy to defeat Rickson. What is most difficult for me is not to defeat him, but to fight with him. He is the most difficult fighter in the world to fight with. (laughing)

Q: "The most difficult fighter in the world to fight with"...... Exactly right! (laughing) Do the top fighters of NHB considers Rickson just like you?

Tito: Yes, everybody thinks so. When he does a fight, he chooses an opponent, doesn't he? He fights only once a year with a not so strong fighter. Naturally he can keep a non-defeat record under this condition.. (laughing) He has never fought with a fighter who is good at both standing and ground techniques. His strategy for victory is to choose an opponent whose technique is limited to only attacks and finish him with choke. He is an artificial champion, after all. I am different from Rickson. Whoever comes to me, I will make a record of a real successive victory in the future. So I want the Japanese fan to pay attention to the real champion, Tito Ortiz, from now on.

Q: I see. Then, I hope you will do your best in your next defense fight

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"A deer admires a lion. But all the members of our family are lions. So it doesn't matter which lion I admire. "
-Rener Gracie-