{"id":174400,"date":"2026-02-12T02:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174400\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T02:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T02:46:08","slug":"ufc-champ-tito-ortiz-slams-newsom-blames-gov-as-reason-he-left-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174400\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC champ Tito Ortiz slams Newsom, blames gov as reason he left California"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC champion Tito Ortiz<\/a> never wanted to leave his home state of California.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Huntington Beach, he became a local leader as a council member and later mayor pro tempore of the city.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s where he built his life as a mixed martial arts star.<\/p>\n

But now, at age 51, with a family, Ortiz believed it was not a feasible place to raise his children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted to leave California. But I left because of the crime, the fraud and the growing threat to the safety of my children. Like millions of other parents, I made the difficult decision to move my family to Florida \u2014 not for opportunity, but for protection. No parent should ever be forced to flee their home state to keep their children safe,\u201d Ortiz told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

Ortiz blames Gov. Gavin Newsom for the conditions that have pushed his family out of the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin Newsom\u2019s failures didn\u2019t start in Sacramento. He helped devastate San Francisco, then exported those same disastrous policies statewide. The result is undeniable: exploding crime, rampant fraud, lawless streets, unaffordable housing, crushed small businesses and families who no longer feel safe in their own communities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia cannot survive more of the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tito Ortiz looks on during a press conference ahead of his cruiserweight fight against Anderson Silva on September 11 at The Harbor Beach Marriott on September 9, 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s office has responded to Ortiz\u2019s criticisms in a statement to Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not sure who Tito Ortiz is, but we wish him well. Bye!\u201d Newsom\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Ortiz, nicknamed \u201cThe Huntington Beach Bad Boy\u201d is a pioneering UFC Hall of Famer and former light heavyweight champion. He held the UFC light heavyweight championship from April 2000 to September 2003, defending it five times.<\/p>\n

He finished his<\/a> professional MMA career with a 21-12-1 record and had his final fight in 2019.<\/p>\n

Now, from afar, he hopes to inspire change in his home state by endorsing Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco for California governor in 2026.<\/p>\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at Friendship House Association of American Indians on January 16, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n

For Ortiz, the defining trait that inspires his endorsement is Bianco\u2019s handling of the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020, when the sheriff refused to enforce certain lockdown protocols under Newsom\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheriff Chad Bianco is not a career politician. He is a proven leader with courage and integrity,\u201d Ortiz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2020, when Gavin Newsom ruled by decree and used fear as a weapon, Sheriff Bianco stood up and refused to enforce unconstitutional lockdowns. He defended churches, small businesses and the fundamental rights of Californians.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone can talk. Sheriff Bianco acted. When it mattered most, he stood with the people, not the political elite. He has earned my vote, my endorsement and my trust. California deserves leadership that will fight back, restore law and order and put families first again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tito Ortiz looks on after being defeated by Anderson Silva in the first round during Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort presented by Triller at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on September 11, 2021 in Hollywood, Florida. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Ortiz joins fellow former UFC fighter and Californian Dan Henderson, who told Fox News Digital in November he is endorsing Bianco.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of a blessing that he didn\u2019t shut everything down as long as we were being responsible with everything. I kind of admired how he handled that whole situation,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of business owners would have went out of business, and maybe even worse, as far as losing a lot of the things that they had, had he shut all the business down like the governor wanted. \u2026 It was more common sense. He didn\u2019t panic and think the world was going to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bianco is the frontrunner for the state\u2019s 2026 gubernatorial election in several polls, including January polls from EMC Research and Public Policy Polling.<\/p>\n

Bianco\u2019s biggest challenger in the upcoming race appears to be fellow Republican Steve Hilton, who has been at or near the top of recent polls with the sheriff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC champion Tito Ortiz never wanted to leave his home state of California. Born and raised in Huntington…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,457,13,127,83228,18873,3586],"class_list":{"0":"post-174400","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-gavin-newsom","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tito-ortiz","15":"tag-ufc","16":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}