In the Halloween spirit of playfulness and good fun, The Blue Corner is duty-bound to help ensure this itty-bitty corner of the sports entertainment world knows the lengths a former MMA champion went to for his costume this year.
Tito Ortiz is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and, it recently was announced, one of MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time – a milestone that no doubt tops anything else on his list.
He’s been a grappler and a boxer and a pro wrestler outside MMA. He’s been an ace at acting – “Zombie Strippers,” anyone?! He’s been a wiz at writing with “This Is Gonna Hurt,” his 2008 autobiography that opens up with a story about him sniffing glue as a 9-year-old and hallucinating being famous with his name in lights.
He’s played at politics as a council member in Huntington Beach, Calif., and eventual mayor pro tempore, though he resigned after less than a half-year, not long after it came to light he fraudulently filed for unemployment benefits, allegedly, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic while also getting paid for being on the council.
With pesky politics in the past, perhaps his future lies in costume work. While his wife, former UFC octagon girl Amber Nichole Miller, went as Mia Wallace from “Pulp Fiction” for Halloween, it appeared Ortiz passed on an opportunity to dress up as John Travolta’s character, Vincent Vega, which would have set us up for the possibility to see him do The Twist in a dance contest. (Actually, maybe no Tito Twist is a good thing …)
Instead, Ortiz took his creativity a different direction. In an image he posted on his Instagram stories (tip o’ the proverbial hat to the reasonably legendary @FullContactMTWF from the cesspool formerly known as Twitter), Ortiz was out on the town in Cape Coral, Fla., dressed as … Tito Ortiz.
I mean, dude had a UFC championship belt and everything. The costume was super convincing – he looked just like vintage Tito Ortiz, minus the flag pole on his shoulder.
At The Blue Corner, we’re not entirely sure his costume is worthy of top-shelf treats like Reese’s cups or left-side Twix (never right-side Twix … ever), but we might toss him a stale popcorn ball. Or a box of raisins. Vincent Vega? We’d have gone full-size Reese’s or Snickers for that sh*t.
Missed opportunity, Tito. Missed opportunity.
He’ll have a chance for redemption Tuesday. The hottest newish restaurant in Cape Coral is Tito’s Cantina Tequila Bar & Grille. This place has everything: tacos, tequilas, tapas, Tito and angel wings on the bathroom wall in case you want to re-create a vintage Affliction shirt while you’re there. Tito’s has advertised a costume contest for Halloween. The winner gets dinner for four at the joint, which carries a current 3.7 out of 5 rating on Yelp.
But if Tito Ortiz shows up dressed as Tito Ortiz again and wins the damn thing, we’re calling shenanigans.
