Photo By Capt. Linda North | Tito Ortiz (sitting), a former light-heavyweight champion with the Ultimate Fighting...... read more read more
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By Cpt. Dawn Williams
Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Soldiers at the Multi-National Division-Baghdad headquarters welcomed a surprise, last-minute visit when two Ultimate Fighting Championship warriors stopped by the division's headquarters building during a USO tour visit with deployed Soldiers in Iraq, Aug. 2.
Bad weather in the Baghdad area prohibited the Team Punishment founder and former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, and teammate Justin McCully, from flying to other operating bases in and around the Iraqi capital. Soldiers working out of the MND-B headquarters, home to the 1st Cavalry Division, eagerly welcomed the pair, awaiting their chance for a photo with the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" (Ortiz) and the "NSane1" (McCully).
"We are really glad to be able to come out here and visit with you guys," McCully said. "It's our pleasure to come out and support you; we really appreciate all that you all are doing for us."
Service members and Department of Defense civilians lined up ready to "take a fighting stance" next to the two fighters for photos and get autographs. Deployed members of all ranks, shapes and sizes showed up to get a glimpse of the Team Punishment ultimate fighters to include Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., the commanding general of MND-B and the 1st Cav. Div.
Fil presented the two fighters with mementos and paused to take photos with the two fighters. Excited to see their top leader shaking hands with the UFC fighters, Soldiers taunted their commander to "put up his dukes" and get an action shot. The commanding general raised both fists asking, "Like this?" Ortiz and McCully played along, lending classic "I've been punched" expressions to the photo shoot.
Laughter erupted from both the crowd and the commanding general as he stepped away with a huge smile saying, "I want a copy of that one!"
Rumor of an internal "bet" between Ortiz and McCully quickly surfaced among the crowd of service members. Having lost some sort of bet with Ortiz, the long-haired "NSane1" would shave his long locks, but only if a Soldier would do it for him.
Staff Sgt. Brian Crenshaw, a trained and certified barber serving with the 1st Cavalry Division suddenly appeared from the crowd with scissors and a barbershop cloak in hand.
"Let's do this!" said Crenshaw. "You ready?"
An anxious McCully looked a bit alarmed for a second, but threw his hands up and surrendered to the bet as Ortiz held the scissors in his hand.
"OK," McCully said, "I'll do it, but Tito has to have the first cut."
The crowd cheered as a wide-eyed and highly enthusiastic Ortiz started cutting the ragged and aged ponytail off his teammate. A few cuts later, shorter locks fell across McCully's face as Ortiz jumped around, hooting and hollering, swirling the six-inch pony-tail recently removed from McCully's head.
Excitement and perhaps slight embarrassment aside, McCully faced the crowd and thanked them again for such a great tour. Before heading to Crenshaw's barber chair set up in a trailer next to the division headquarters.
McCully and Ortiz talked about their deep-seeded friendship and camaraderie and ended their visit with a story about a recent comeback bout for McCully in preparation for his upcoming UFC fight in September.
As the crowd began to disperse, a select few walked the UFC pair to Crenshaw's barbershop, where a chair was already prepared to receive the ultimate fighter.
Crenshaw welcomed the guest into his barbershop and gave him his first haircut in several years. Ortiz sat by watching closely, making jokes and taking pictures with his own digital camera, capturing the moment.
When asked how he liked his new haircut, McCully replied, "It's great! I'll have to get used to it and most importantly...it's paid for by the U.S. government!"
Ortiz and McCully are currently on tour in support of deployed troops. Their USO adventure began in late July when they visited wounded Soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The two UFC veterans also made stops to visit Soldiers in Kuwait and Iraq
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 08.03.2007 13:04 |
| Story ID: | 11623 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 420 |
| Downloads: | 314 |
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