Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Tito Ortiz Heads To Persian Gulf For USO To Meet With U.S. Troops

(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 26, 2007 ) LOS ANGELES – Mixed martial arts fighter Tito Ortiz will travel to the Persian Gulf this summer to meet with U.S. troops on duty there under the sponsorship of the USO. The trip is the latest show of support for the troops by Ortiz, former Light-Heavyweight champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) circuit who will fight a highly promoted bout with Rashad Evans on July 7th at the Arco Arena in California (UFC® 73: Stacked).Ortiz will travel to the Gulf with fellow “Team Punishment” fighter Justin McCully. Posters announcing the fight will go up soon at selected bases in the region. “I think showing support for our troops is one of the most important things we as Americans can do,” said Ortiz. “I am tremendously excited about going to the Persian Gulf with the USO. The men and women on duty there are literally on the front lines and I’ll do whatever I can to show them how much their service means to us back home.” Most recently Ortiz was a special guest at an Armed Forces Day program on May 19th at the Banning Armory in California. He spoke at a ceremony and took part in a meet-and-greet session with soldiers from the California National Guard, PASS, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and others to honor active duty military personnel and “Blue Star” families (i.e. those with a loved one on active duty) and “Gold Star” mothers and families of soldiers who have given their lives in defense of freedom. Jacob “Tito” Ortiz is a legendary MMA fighter. His career has been mostly within the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization where he was Light-Heavyweight champion and became one of the UFC’s shining stars.A native of Huntington Beach, CA, Ortiz is also known as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" and is admired as both a colorful showman and talented athlete. His acting ability and charisma have earned him roles in several films and TV series. Most recently he made an appearance on the CBS TV series “NUMB3RS.” He also donates substantial time to charitable work, makes appearances to support the U.S. troops and heads a successful sportswear firm, Punishment Athletics (www.punishment.com). For more information, visit www.titoortiz.com and www.uso.org. Contact: Sara Perkins, Tito Ortiz Press Office at 212-687-1977 or perkycomm@aol.com.###This press release was issued though GroupWeb EmailWire.Com. For more information on press release distribution, go to http://www.emailwire.com.

Tito Ortiz
Kim Lucchese

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