Tito Ortiz

Ortiz in 2008, Entertainment Press / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Jacob Christopher Ortiz

Place of Birth: Huntington Beach, Orange, California, United States

Date of Birth: January 23, 1975

Ethnicity:
*father – Mexican, including likely/possibly Native American, African, Creole
*mother – Portuguese-Hawaiian, Irish, French

Tito Ortiz is an American mixed martial arts fighter, actor, boxer, and politician. He competed for MMA’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a Light Heavyweight Champion, and the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006. He is the CEO of Punishment Athletics MMA equipment and clothing line. He has appeared in the films The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, and Above the Shadows. A Republican, he was a Member of the Huntington Beach City Council, and Mayor pro tempore of Huntington Beach, California, both, from December 7, 2020 to June 1, 2021. He is also known as The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.

Tito is the son of Joyce and Samuel Ortiz. His father was born in Santa Ana, California, of Mexican descent. His mother was born in Hilo, Hawaii. In an interview on Vlad TV, Tito stated that he has Native American, Mexican, African, Creole, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Irish, and French ancestry, the latter three specifically from his mother. It is not clear if all of these lineages have been verified/documented.

Tito is married to model Amber Nichole Miller. He has a son with his former wife Kristin; and two children with his former partner, adult film star Jenna Jameson.

Tito’s maternal grandfather was named Herman. Herman was a Pentecostal missionary. He had Irish ancestry.

Tito has stated that his maternal grandmother was from Portugal. He added that she also had French ancestry.

Tito has said:

I’m half Mexican. My father’s parents are from Mexico City. And my other half is from Hawaii and the Long Beach area. My mother’s father was born in Long Beach and my mother’s mother was born in Hawaii.

Tito has also said:

It seemed as I got older and as I got more mature, I started realizing that I have to accept where I come from. My father is from Santa Ana. His father is from Mexico City and I went to Mexico City about four years ago and I really looked at my heritage, seeing where my grandfather came from and I just kind of took it to heart. … Why not embrace both heritages? And that’s what I do. My father’s full-blooded Mexican [and] my mother’s full-blooded American, so I grab a Mexican and an American flag. It’s what makes me strong when I walk into the Octagon.