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UFC champion Tito Ortiz reveals he fled home state California because of Newsom’s leadership

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UFC champion Tito Ortiz reveals he fled home state California because of Newsom’s leadership

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UFC champion Tito Ortiz never wanted to leave his home state of California. 

Born and raised in Huntington Beach, he became a local leader as a council member and later mayor pro tempore of the city. 

It’s where he built his life as a mixed martial arts star. 

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Tito Ortiz (R) battles Forrest Griffin during their Light Heavyweight Fight at the UFC 106 in 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (2009 Getty Images)

But now, at age 51, with a family, Ortiz believed it was not a feasible place to raise his children.

“I 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 — not for opportunity, but for protection. No parent should ever be forced to flee their home state to keep their children safe,” Ortiz told Fox News Digital. 

Ortiz blames Gov. Gavin Newsom for the conditions that have pushed his family out of the state.

“Gavin Newsom’s failures didn’t 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,” he added. 

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“California cannot survive more of the same.”

Newsom’s office has responded to Ortiz’s criticisms in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“We’re not sure who Tito Ortiz is, but we wish him well. Bye!” Newsom’s office said. 

Ortiz, nicknamed “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” 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.

He finished his professional MMA career with a 21-12-1 record and had his final fight in 2019.

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

UFC LEGEND ENDORSES PRO-LAW ENFORCEMENT PICK FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: ‘WE NEED HIS STRENGTH’

Gov. Gavin Newsom walked back his office’s comments slamming ICE agents during a podcast interview.  (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

For Ortiz, the defining trait that inspires his endorsement is Bianco’s handling of the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020, when the sheriff refused to enforce certain lockdown protocols under Newsom’s leadership. 

“Sheriff Chad Bianco is not a career politician. He is a proven leader with courage and integrity,” Ortiz said. 

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“In 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.

“Anyone 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.”

Ortiz joins fellow former UFC fighter and Californian Dan Henderson, who told Fox News Digital in November he is endorsing Bianco. 

“It was kind of a blessing that he didn’t shut everything down as long as we were being responsible with everything. I kind of admired how he handled that whole situation,” Henderson said. 

“A 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. … It was more common sense. He didn’t panic and think the world was going to end.”

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Bianco is the frontrunner for the state’s 2026 gubernatorial election in several polls, including January polls from EMC Research and Public Policy Polling. 

Bianco’s 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. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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San Francisco, CA

Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident

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Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:

  • Resisting an executive officer


  • Assault with force to cause bodily injury


  • Willful disobedience of a court order


  • Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation

Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.

PREVIOUS STORY: SF mayor was ‘worried’ about 2 men on street, checked on them before bodyguard attack

Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.

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“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.

We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.

The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”

The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.

The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”

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Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.

We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.

INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker

“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.

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“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.

Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.

“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.

The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.

One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.

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Denver, CO

Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants

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Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants


Like sand through the hourglass, so too go the dumplings of the Denver Post’s annual food bracket.

Our competition started with 32 restaurants chosen by editors and readers specializing in dumplings and momos, a Tibetan and Nepali variation, in the Denver area. Two weeks later, only eight restaurants remain.

The next round of matchups in our Elite 8 competition to be decided by reader votes are:

Rocky Mountain Momo (9678 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood) vs. ChoLon (multiple locations)

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LingLon Dumpling House (2456 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver) vs. Star Kitchen (2917 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver)

Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (multiple locations) vs. Dillon’s Dumpling House (3571 S. Tower Road, Unit G, Aurora)

Hop Alley (3500 Larimer St., Denver) vs. Momo Dumplings (caterer; momo-dumplings.com)

The most recent matchups recorded more than 460 entries. Our most popular head-to-head was Rocky Mountain Momo facing off against Yuan Wonton. Rocky Mountain Momo advances with 55% of 260 votes.

MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant with a Michelin nod for its value, faced a tough first-round opponent, The Empress Seafood, and scraped out a win. But this time, it wasn’t as lucky, losing to ChoLon, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with multiple locations, by only five votes.

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Make your picks below for who should advance to the next round. The online voting form will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win

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Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win


Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders, and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now, the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.

Tyson Jost and Reid Schaefer also scored second-period goals to erase Seattle’s 2-0 first-period lead, and Steve Stamkos added an empty-netter for his 31st goal of the season.

Jonathan Marchessault had a pair of assists for Nashville, which had lost four of its previous five, and Juuse Saros made 43 saves.

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Kaapo Kakko scored just 2:14 into the game, and Matty Beniers scored at 9:46 of the first period to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Beniers scored from a tough angle, firing from the bottom of the right circle and over the shoulder of Saros just inside the far post.

Daccord finished with 23 saves.

Seattle’s Shane Wright scored a goal in the second, but it was waved off because of goalie interference when Ryker Evans slid into Saros and took out his feet.

The Kraken were without left wing Jaden Schwartz, who was hit in the face by a skate during Seattle’s 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.

Kraken, clinging to a wild-card slot, have now lost five of their last seven games.

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Predators: Visit Vancouver on Thursday night.

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Kraken: Host Colorado on Thursday night.



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