Video | Tito Ortiz says he wants to get COVID-19: “That way I can fight it”

By Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz said in a recent interview that he wants to catch COVID-19, so that way he can fight it.

Tito Ortiz

Ortiz has been very vocal about his distrust in the COVID-19 pandemic and everything related to it on social media and as part of his role on the Huntington Beach city council. He has even been criticized by fellow politicians for not wearing masks inside buildings, as he doesn’t believe in them. In Ortiz’s mind, the virus is not all that serious, and in a recent interview, he actually said that he wants to get COVID-19 so that his body can fight it.

“I wash my hands normally and I have no problem. My friends, I huge them. I hope I get it. I mean, that way I can fight it,” Tito Ortiz said (via Borrachinha Depot). “And one of those things I can tell you guys right now that my doctor, and five of the doctors I talked to, you go to the hospital for COVID, don’t be put under a respirator. Do not do that. There’s medication out there right now that I’ll post later. They give five of the medications that take care of you and knock it out. 15 of my friends have taken the same medication.”

Like everyone else, Ortiz is allowed to have his opinion about the coronavirus and about vaccinations and medications. The problem is, he is an elected official and is in a position of power and authority. If Ortiz was still just an MMA fighter and celebrity who had a vocal opinion about the coronavirus, these sorts of comments wouldn’t be as big of a deal. But with Ortiz being the temporary mayor in Hungtington Beach, these are the kinds of comments that leave a bad taste in the mouth of people who live in the city he oversees.