On this day in 2006, Tito Ortiz finished Ken Shamrock with punches and elbows to end their grudge match trilogy.
Tito seemed to be the much stronger and faster athlete in the entire series of bouts with Shamrock, and although Tito had been submitted by Frank Shamrock in the past, he never lost a round or minute to Ken.
The only reason the third and final bout took place was because the second fight resulted in Tito being pulled off Ken a bit early, and the fans wanted a definitive ending to such a tense and long lasting rivalry.
Tito grabbed Ken out of the gate in this fight and he was able to lift him off his feet directly into the fence. Ken looked a bit out of sorts due to Tito's size and strength, and for as legendary of a grappler he was, his only way out was an attempt to grab a heel.
Shamrock gave up position early in this fight and it was really just two minutes of Tito looking for openings with his devastating ground and pound to finish the fight.
It wasn't too much after Tito grounded the fight that Big John had to step in and call it. Ortiz looked tremenous in this run to the title, but he had to face the Iceman in his next bout and was never able to secure the title while Chuck Liddell reigned as King. The rematch proved even more brutal than their first match, but it's also what cemented Chuck and Tito as all time greats.
This was personally my favorite era of mixed martial arts. The early to mid 2000s was all porn stars, supplements, and Affliction gear... I miss it.
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