Tito Ortiz pleads no-contest to DUI, gets probation and fines
Tito Ortiz today was sentenced to 36 months probation, fines and ordered to undergo alcohol education after agreeing not to contest a DUI charge filed this past January in a Los Angeles court.
Ortiz’s manager, George Prajin, confirmed the news to MMAjunkie following an initial report from TMZ.com. The amount of Ortiz’s fine was not immediately available.
The UFC Hall of Famer and Bellator fighter was arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 6 after he crashed his Porsche Panamera into the median of the I-405 freeway in Los Angeles. Two passengers were in the car at the time, but no one was hurt. A preliminary alcohol screening showed Ortiz had a blood alcohol level of .12, well over the legal limit of .08. He posted a $15,000 bond and was released the same day.
Ortiz reportedly was returning from a party at the Playboy mansion at the time of the accident. Lawyers for the fighter filed several motions in court to delay the hearing of his case in order to review the evidence against the fighter. Initially, Ortiz plead not guilty, but then changed his plea to a no-contest.
Three weeks after the accident, Ortiz (16-11-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), 39, was cleared by his doctor to begin training again after suffering a neck injury that delayed his debut for Bellator. He is now scheduled to meet middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko (50-7 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) in a light heavyweight bout for the Viacom-owned promotion’s pay-per-view debut, Bellator 120, which is slated for May 17 at Landers Center in Southaven, Miss.
Bellator initially was hesitant to give a timetable of when and if Ortiz would be able to return to action given the severity of the injury, which, according to CEO Bjorn Rebney, threatened paralysis if the fighter’s neck was traumatized (Ortiz’s rep later downplayed the potential danger).
Commenting on Ortiz’s DUI, Rebney said, “I take DUIs and drunk driving ridiculously seriously. Tito and I have been texting back and forth. We’re going to get together and do a full download on everything that’s going on. But my hope is that he can put that behind him.
“Thankfully, no one, including himself, was injured in the situation. That’s the most important. But we’ll go through talking about that, about his injury and the potential for a comeback.â€
Ortiz hasn’t fought since July 2012, when he lost a decision to Forrest Griffin in a trilogy fight at UFC 148. He went 1-6 for the industry-leader before retiring from the promotion. This past August, he came out of retirement to sign with Bellator.
