stupid, all they had to do was run my name and I would be going to jail. So I went to Las Vegas and trained for a couple of months, and nobody found me. After a couple of months, I came back to Los Angeles, Kristinâs parents loaned me the money for the lawyer, and I dealt with it.
The fight with Wanderlei Silva took place on April 4, 2000, in Japan. This was my time to shine. I was not going to back down. I was ready to go to war. The fight was billed as UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3. And from the opening bell, I was in control of the match.
I took him down and dominated on top. In the third round he did hit me with a punch that dropped me, but I got right back on my feet and took him down. At the end of the match, I had taken a five-round decision.
My victory shirt for that fight read: âI Just Killed an Axe Murderer.â
After a year and a half of professional fighting, I was now the lightweight champion of the world. I swear, when they announced that I had won, I had an out-of-body experience. I had come to realize that all the hard work and determination I had put into this sport had resulted in my becoming the best fighter in the world.
I thought, Wow! This is really happening!
JOYCE ROBLES
When I found out that Tito was fighting for a living, I was scared to death. I didnât like the idea of anyone hitting my son.
When I came back from Japan, I slept with that belt for at least a month. I knew I had succeeded. I had worked hard and had gotten the ultimate prize.
It was at this point that Dana White came into my life.
One of my trainers at the time, John Lewis, had been training Dana White in jujitsu. Dana was a huge fan of the sport and had watched me fight a lot. John and Dana were talking one day, and the subject of who was managing me came up. By that time Saul and I had called it quits, and for all intents and purposes, I was managing myself. Dana wanted to know what he could do to get me to let him manage me.
Dana and I arranged a meeting. John introduced us, and we just started talking. He told me that he had worked with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a lot of boxers, that he kind of knew the business, and that he thought he could help me out.
At that point I was a bit skeptical. I felt that anybody who talked to me about money was full of shit. I really didnât know what to think. Then Dana called again and said, âI want to come down to Huntington Beach and sit down with you and do this deal.â He said he was signing Chuck Liddell as well and that he was anxious to bring me on board. I still wasnât sure. But then a friend of mine whose opinion I respected, Wayne Harriman, said that Dana was a really good guy and that I should go with him.
So Dana flew down and came knocking on my door. He sat me down and asked me what I wanted to do with my future. Then he described how he was going to help me and basically promised me the world. I asked Kristin what she thought, and she said that it sounded like a good deal. So I signed up with Dana to manage me.
Now that I was world champion, there was a lot of press and media interest in me. And, of course, I loved the attention. But I donât think Kristin did.
I remember one night we had gone to see a show at the House of Blues in Hollywood. After the show I was surrounded by all kinds of people wanting to get autographs, have pictures taken, and do interviews. Kristin was standing off to the side, essentially being ignored by everybody, including me. Every once in a while sheâd come up to me and say, âLetâs go home and go to bed.â But I would stay until everybody that had come up to me had been taken care of. Iâve always been an outgoing kind of person, and when people are giving you all this attention, you want to suck up as much of it as possibleâat any cost.
KRISTIN ORTIZ
There were so many incidents like that night at the House of Blues. Fans tended to look at Tito like he was God and not a real
The fight with Wanderlei Silva took place on April 4, 2000, in Japan. This was my time to shine. I was not going to back down. I was ready to go to war. The fight was billed as UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3. And from the opening bell, I was in control of the match.
I took him down and dominated on top. In the third round he did hit me with a punch that dropped me, but I got right back on my feet and took him down. At the end of the match, I had taken a five-round decision.
My victory shirt for that fight read: âI Just Killed an Axe Murderer.â
After a year and a half of professional fighting, I was now the lightweight champion of the world. I swear, when they announced that I had won, I had an out-of-body experience. I had come to realize that all the hard work and determination I had put into this sport had resulted in my becoming the best fighter in the world.
I thought, Wow! This is really happening!
JOYCE ROBLES
When I found out that Tito was fighting for a living, I was scared to death. I didnât like the idea of anyone hitting my son.
When I came back from Japan, I slept with that belt for at least a month. I knew I had succeeded. I had worked hard and had gotten the ultimate prize.
It was at this point that Dana White came into my life.
One of my trainers at the time, John Lewis, had been training Dana White in jujitsu. Dana was a huge fan of the sport and had watched me fight a lot. John and Dana were talking one day, and the subject of who was managing me came up. By that time Saul and I had called it quits, and for all intents and purposes, I was managing myself. Dana wanted to know what he could do to get me to let him manage me.
Dana and I arranged a meeting. John introduced us, and we just started talking. He told me that he had worked with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a lot of boxers, that he kind of knew the business, and that he thought he could help me out.
At that point I was a bit skeptical. I felt that anybody who talked to me about money was full of shit. I really didnât know what to think. Then Dana called again and said, âI want to come down to Huntington Beach and sit down with you and do this deal.â He said he was signing Chuck Liddell as well and that he was anxious to bring me on board. I still wasnât sure. But then a friend of mine whose opinion I respected, Wayne Harriman, said that Dana was a really good guy and that I should go with him.
So Dana flew down and came knocking on my door. He sat me down and asked me what I wanted to do with my future. Then he described how he was going to help me and basically promised me the world. I asked Kristin what she thought, and she said that it sounded like a good deal. So I signed up with Dana to manage me.
Now that I was world champion, there was a lot of press and media interest in me. And, of course, I loved the attention. But I donât think Kristin did.
I remember one night we had gone to see a show at the House of Blues in Hollywood. After the show I was surrounded by all kinds of people wanting to get autographs, have pictures taken, and do interviews. Kristin was standing off to the side, essentially being ignored by everybody, including me. Every once in a while sheâd come up to me and say, âLetâs go home and go to bed.â But I would stay until everybody that had come up to me had been taken care of. Iâve always been an outgoing kind of person, and when people are giving you all this attention, you want to suck up as much of it as possibleâat any cost.
KRISTIN ORTIZ
There were so many incidents like that night at the House of Blues. Fans tended to look at Tito like he was God and not a real
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