For years, UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz was famous for surviving brutal, bloody wars inside the Octagon. But it wasn’t an MMA opponent that finally forced the former light heavyweight champion to walk away from his latest passion project.
Eight months after a horrific boating crash left the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” with a severe concussion and requiring major neck surgery, Ortiz has made the sudden, emotional business decision to permanently close his Florida restaurant.
Tito Ortiz Explains Why Tito’s Cantina Is Closing
Tito’s Cantina was Jacob Christopher’s dream restaurant. The venture thrived during its first two years. The former champion built the brand around Southern California-style Mexican food, UFC fight nights, and replica belt giveaways. Then, the near-fatal accident pulled him completely away from the daily operations.
But the business bills kept coming, creating a financial deficit too deep to overcome. In his emotional closure announcement, Ortiz thanked the Cape Coral community, his dedicated staff and co-owner Brian Rowland.
“We’ve worked hard over the last three years, but as of this coming Monday, we’ll be closing our doors,” Ortiz said. “On February 28th of this year, I got in a boating accident. And I’ve been hurt now for the last eight months. It’s been hard. I’ve had neck surgery. I had a concussion for over four and a half months. Over the last eight months, I’ve been showing up for maybe 15 times. Maybe. It’s really hurt my business a lot, being injured.”
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The terrifying crash happened while Ortiz was returning from a fishing tournament on a friend’s boat. Traveling at 55 mph, a malfunction in the boat’s motor and autopilot system violently threw him into the water. Ortiz was knocked unconscious and woke up underwater.
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He underwent major neck surgery following the crash. However, the physical toll went far beyond that initial operation. Ortiz suffered from severe speech problems, arm numbness, back pain, and memory loss that lasted nearly two months. Follow-up scans later revealed a bulged disc that required additional surgery.
Tito Ortiz’s Career and Injuries
As an early pioneer of the sport, Ortiz dominated the UFC’s light heavyweight division and won the world title in 2000. He defended his belt five consecutive times, which set a long-standing division record. His brutal ground-and-pound style and fierce rivalries with stars like Chuck Liddell and Ken Shamrock drove the company’s pay-per-view sales during the early 2000s. Because of his massive impact on the sport, the promotion inducted Ortiz into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2012.
While Ortiz initially retired from the UFC that same year, he repeatedly returned to the cage for high-profile veteran bouts. He famously announced his retirement from MMA after knocking out Liddell in a 2018 trilogy fight, only to return for one final cage match in 2019. He has not competed since a 2021 boxing knockout loss to Anderson Silva, making the restaurant a core part of his life after fighting.
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Over his career, he underwent extensive surgeries to replace both of his ACLs, fuse his lower back, and repair multiple vertebrae in his neck. Additionally, Ortiz estimated that he sustained 26 or 27 concussions throughout his years of fighting.
However, in his restaurant closure announcement, Ortiz did not clarify whether he will now completely shift his focus to his health or if he plans to start a new business. He simply stated that he is not leaving Cape Coral and remains open to selling the fully operational location to an interested buyer as the doors officially prepare to close on Monday.
PHOTO CREDIT: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
