10 MMA Fights That Were The Beginning Of The End For Legends

5. Tito Ortiz Vs. Lyoto Machida - UFC 84

When looking at the period when UFC really began to seriously pierce the mainstream in the late '90s and into the 2000s, nobody was as important to the company's rise as Tito Ortiz.

Not only was Tito a phenomenal fighter at that point, but his cocky charisma and unfiltered opinions made for must-see entertainment. There may have been better fighters before and since Ortiz was in his pomp, yet few had the personality of Tito Ortiz. When it came down to it, Tito made you want to tune in to see him - whether that was to watch him win or to watch him get his ass kicked.

Tito has fought as recently as December 2019 - that being a bizarre fight against Alberto El Patron, aka Alberto Del Rio - but his best days are long behind him. To be precise, it was May 2008's UFC 84 bout against Lyoto Machida that was the beginning of the end for Ortiz.

This UFC 84 PPV marked Machida's first UFC win over a top tier name, but Tito Ortiz was on the other end of the spectrum on that front. Following the loss to Machida, Ortiz spent 18 months out of the Octagon before returning in November 2009 to take another decision loss - this time to Forrest Griffin - as it became clear that Tito's prime was now well behind him.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.