Tito Ortiz: 10 Signature Fights

Ryan Bader was victimized at UFC 132 in 2011. | Photo: Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

UFC 132 “Cruz vs. Faber 2”
July 2, 2011 | Las Vegas
When Tito Ortiz stepped into the Octagon to meet Ryan Bader at UFC 132, he did so as a prohibitive favorite. After all, he had not won a fight in nearly five years, and Bader was on the upswing.

Ortiz threw the oddsmakers a Bert Blyleven-style curveball at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, as he submitted “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner with an arm-in guillotine choke 1:56 into the first round. Ortiz buckled Bader with a short right hand, pounced on his fallen foe and cinched the choke on his exposed neck. Bader struggled briefly to free himself, but Ortiz’s grip was not to be broken, and surrender became the only option. It was Ortiz’s first submission since he finished Yuki Kondo with a neck crank at UFC 29 in December 2000.

“I hit him with a right hook, and I saw his knees buckle, so I just pushed forward, got on top and sunk an arm-in guillotine,” Ortiz said. “A lot of wrestlers tap to this. I secured my elbow on the inside. He tried to pull his head out, but I was strong. He wasn’t going anywhere.”

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