4. Tito Ortiz
If you had polled a panel of MMA experts at the start of 2014 and asked them for 50 fighters primed to have a renaissance year, it is safe to say that list would not have included Ortiz.
As the year began, Ortiz was more than 16 months removed from his last bout, which saw him leave the UFC after a loss to Forrest Griffin, his third in a row. His much-promoted Bellator MMA debut against Quinton Jackson had fallen apart in late 2013 after Ortiz injured his neck, the latest in a string of injuries which left some pundits questioning whether “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” would, or even should, return to the cage.
When Bellator announced in April that Ortiz would square off against Alexander Shlemenko, it was easy to view the move as the organization trying to “put over” their middleweight champion in a bout against an older, more notable and potentially rusty veteran. Ortiz would not be a stepping stone, however, and the 39-year-old’s experience put a quick end to Shlemenko’s night at Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view event. Just as he had done to Ryan Bader three years prior, Ortiz pulled off a shocking submission, choking Shlemenko unconscious with an arm-triangle choke less than halfway through the opening round.
Ortiz’s second victory of the year -- a November decision against fellow UFC hall of famer Stephan Bonnar -- could not match the excitement of his win over Shlemenko. While the theatrics used to sell the fight were not to the taste of many MMA fans, Ortiz proved he can still draw a crowd. More than that, the old dog showed that there is fight left in him yet.
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