UFC fighter Dustin Ortiz gets kicked, punched and choked for a living.
But Hurricane Irma, which knocked a slew of Caribbean islands into submission with its 185mph winds, was not going to make Ortiz cut short his vacation in the Bahamas.
The 28-year-old mixed martial arts champ and his girlfriend were evacuated from the Bahamian island of Exuma and moved to the city of Nassau on Thursday.
They are among the 1,000 tourists stranded in the nation’s capital while they ride out the record-setting hurricane expected to hit on Saturday.
The Tennessee couple exclusively told the DailyMail.com that they decided to stay put and will help with search and rescue missions in the storm’s aftermath.
Dustin Ortiz, a 28-year-old UFC fighter, and his girlfriend Tara Phillips (pictured together) are hunkered down in the Bahamas while waiting out Hurricane Irma. They were evacuated from the island of Exuma and moved to the nation’s capital, Nassau, on Thursday
Ortiz, from Franklin, Tennessee, is on the island celebrating his latest win. He had the fastest knockout in Flyweight history last month. Pictured: Justin Ortiz in his record-breaking fight against Hector Sandoval
During lunch at the Warwick hotel, Ortiz said he is on his first long vacation ever.
He said: ‘I started fighting soon after I left high school. And with the training and everything, I just don’t go on vacation.
‘I’d never left the United States until now. I went for a few weekends in Florida when I was younger, but this is the first real vacation of my life. And I intend to enjoy it.’
At 5-feet, 5-inches and 125 pounds when he is in fighting shape, Ortiz has 17 wins for seven losses. He is ranked 11th in the UFC for his division.
His last fight in August was a record-setting bout. He beat Hector Sandoval in the flyweight division in just 15 seconds, the fastest KO in UFC flyweight history.
Ortiz and hairdresser Tara Phillips, his girlfriend, plan to make themselves available to search and rescue operations if Nassau were destroyed.
Phillips said: ‘For one thing, every flight out is booked solid. We’re from Nashville and we can’t get home. And then we talked about it this morning and decided to stay.
‘We think God wants us to stay here. We’re both young, in good shape and we’d like to help with the search and rescue efforts if we’re needed.’
The couple said they decided to stay, despite Irma hitting the island on Saturday. They said they’ll help with search and rescue missions in the storm’s aftermath
Although the hurricane is expected to hit, spirits remain high as a carnival-esque party, called a junkanoo, enters the lobby at Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas in Nassau
Pictured: A graphic estimating when Hurricane Irma slams into the Bahamas
Ortiz and Phillips are some of the 1,000 tourists stranded in the city of 250,000 people after the airport closed late Thursday.
Earlier in the day, jets chartered by the government of the 700 islands evacuated its southernmost towns and villages, such as Exuma, and flew about 1,000 people to Nassau, its largest city.
When they disembarked, the evacuees were welcomed on the tarmac by Prime Minister Hubert Minnis.
They then fanned out to the homes of family members, shelters in public buildings and churches, and to the few hotels that are still open.
Ortiz says his plans were to spend nine days in paradise, two in Exuma and a week in Nassau’s tourist hangouts.
‘We went out to walk Thursday morning in Exuma,’ Phillips explains. ‘When we got back, there was a piece of paper glued to the door of our room telling us we were being evacuated within an hour.’
After being evacuated from the Bahamian island of Exuma toward the nation’s capital of Nassau this morning, the mixed martial art star (pictured) said he was staying put
Ortiz and Phillips are some of the 1,000 tourists stranded in Nassau as the island braces itself for the hurricane to hit. Pictured: People waiting in line at the Nassau airport
The junkanoo group wore colorful outfits and played trumpets as they put on a show for stranded tourists at the hotel
Phillips described how islanders and tourists boarded planes in a calm and composed manner even if, she says, a few Americans caused a ruckus by trying to be first in line.
Late Thursday, about half the hotels in Nassau were closing and shuttling guests to the last flights to the United States.
At the brand-new, 1,800-room luxury Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, the hundreds of slot machines in the cavernous casino fell silent and guests trickled out to waiting cabs.
As he checked out, Fort Lauderdale resident Aldo Piscitello and his French fiancee Svetlana Colibonova said hotel staff didn’t suggest alternative accommodations and advised them to go home.
In Piscitello’s case, he is leaving 11 days early, saying: ‘My fiancee and I arrived last week and we were supposed to stay until the 18th.
‘It’s disappointing but what can you do? I understand. Safety comes first. I’m OK with that. Now, I’m not sure what I’m going to find in Florida since it’s also on the storm’s path.’
Ortiz said he planned to stay because ‘he never left the United States until now.’ He added: ‘This is the first real vacation of my life. And I intend to enjoy it’
Fort Lauderdale resident Aldo Piscitello and his French fiancee Svetlana Colibonova said hotel staff didn’t suggest alternative accommodations and advised them to go home (pictured)
Josh Pool, the owner of a fish fry stand on Arawak Beach, said: ‘We’re used to hurricanes. I went through dozens of them in my 67 years. We’ll be fine’
In true island fashion, the preparation for a hurricane deemed the strongest ever in the Atlantic continued in a relaxed fashion in the British commonwealth.
While busy, the grocery stores and supermarkets didn’t feature the long lines and empty water shelves seen in Florida and gas stations were operating normally.
The crews of a dozen mega yachts docked at the famous Atlantis Resort were busy engineering a complex system of lines to tie the ships in time for the expected storm surge.
On Bay Street, the shopping district where thousands of cruise ship passengers would otherwise be spending their money in tourist traps, store clerks and contractors were boarding up the stores’ windows and doors.
Still, there was an ease to the preparations rarely seen on the mainland. ‘We’re used to hurricanes,’ said Josh Pool, the owner of a fish fry stand on Arawak Beach.
He added: ‘I went through dozens of them in my 67 years. The roofs of our houses might fall off, and there’s going to be floods.
‘But the structures of our buildings are the best in the universe. All the houses are anchored into the ground. Solidly. We’ll be fine.’
Late Thursday, about half the hotels in Nassau were closing and shuttling guests to the last flights to the United States
While busy, the grocery stores and supermarkets didn’t feature the long lines and empty water shelves seen in Florida and gas stations were operating normally
In true island fashion, the preparation for a hurricane deemed the strongest ever in the Atlantic continued in a relaxed fashion in the British commonwealth