Here's What Really Happened With Tito Ortiz's Political Career

Just like former President Donald Trump, Tito Ortiz sought a political position after being in the limelight. Some of Ortiz's fans even considered him the Trump of Huntington Beach, a city in California's Orange County, when he became mayor pro tem (for the time being) in December 2020. But he only held the position for six months when he abruptly stepped down in June, per the Los Angeles Times. The former MMA fighter told the LA Times that the job simply "wasn't working" for him.

Ortiz won more votes (42,000) than any council candidate in city history, according to NBC Los Angeles. The UFC Hall of Famer told audiences of his dedication to Huntington Beach during a Trump rally in 2020: "It's important that we protect this city. This city is powerful to me and I'm not leaving. Joe Rogan, a bunch of other Hollywood guys, they left." He added, "I can't say the word because my children are here, but they're quitters! I refuse to be a quitter!"  

So why did he ultimately quit his position on the city council? Let's just say there was some drama.

When Tito Ortiz stepped down from his mayor pro tem position in June, he blamed the media and the public for his departure, per the Los Angeles Times. He claimed that he had been subject to "character assassination" every week through news stories. The LA Times explained that Ortiz's "unapologetic rejection" of public health topics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic supposedly caused a strain in city hall. Ortiz called the pandemic a "plandemic" as well as a "political scam" and form of "population control" on top of openly refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the outlet noted.

Although Huntington Beach has been at times a conservative-leaning city, Ortiz's hard stance against the public health crisis was not met with full agreement. Fred Smoller, an associate professor of political science at Chapman University in Orange County, told the LA Times, "Tito's departure is a reset for Huntington Beach... it's a place that has been positioning itself as being more moderate." A poll of county residents at the time showed that 83% of people surveyed saw COVID-19 as a threat and 70% supported a national mask mandate, per the LA Times.

One day after Ortiz's resignation, Huntington Beach City Council member Barbara Delgleize got appointed pro tem mayor, The O.C. Register reported.

On December 18, Tito Ortiz, former Mayor pro tem of Huntington Beach and MMA fighter, listed his home for sale at $6 million, according to the East Bay Times. The home sale comes just a few short months after Ortiz's fledgling career as a boxer, which resulted in a 90-second bout in September that knocked him out cold, per MMA Weekly. Ortiz took to Instagram after the loss with a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt, which is arguably ironic given Roosevelt's progressive legacy and socialist leanings, as The Hill noted.

It's not clear what is next for the former politician and MMA fighter-turned-boxer. Ortiz has flirted with the idea of retirement in the last few years but has also returned to the ring for MMA bouts on several occasions, according to Fansided. One thing is for sure, however — Ortiz won't return to the political arena again. "I got a taste of how dirty that stuff is and I just tried to help my city," he lamented during a September press conference. "At the end of the day, with what our country's going through right now, people say don't talk about politics but the future of my children is my No. 1 [priority]. That's all I tried to do was help here in Huntington Beach and I couldn't let it happen."

Of course, Ortiz's resignation hasn't stopped him from sharing his many and unfiltered political comments on social media.