In May, former UFC fighter Tito Ortiz appeared on OutKick’s Tomi Lahren is Fearless podcast, where he spoke about his lack of a relationship with UFC president Dana White and repeatedly questioned White’s intelligence during the discussion.
A month later, White himself featured on the same show, as host Tomi Lahren revisited Ortiz’s comments and asked him to respond to the long-standing friction between the two MMA figures.
White clarifies Tito Ortiz row
After watching the clip of Ortiz’s remarks, White pushed back strongly against the notion that Ortiz had any influence on the UFC sale.
“First of all, we did not buy the company because of Tito Ortiz,” he said.
“That’s how mentally ill this guy is — number one. Number two, yes, we loved Tito when we bought the company. We loved Tito. You know he was one of our guys at the time.”
He also explained that during the early days of the promotion, he was managing both Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, adding that Ortiz’s refusal to take a fight against Liddell eventually escalated tensions and led to their fallout.
“It got to a point where Chuck Liddell had beaten everybody… and Tito absolutely refused to fight him,” the UFC president said.
Why Ortiz avoided Liddell
The 56-year-old suggested that Ortiz likely avoided fighting Liddell because he knew Liddell would win.
“He would not fight him because Tito knew Chuck was going to beat him. And ironically, the beef between me and Chuck and Tito at the time really helped build the UFC too, because it was, you know, the storyline that the fans loved,” White explained.
What caused the fallout
The UFC boss further reflected on how his relationship with Ortiz fell apart over time.
“Tito did some really dumb things, like he said, and he destroyed the relationship, right? What if the UFC failed, and it didn’t work? Would he want to let bygones be bygones? And no, you try to do some dirty stuff at the time when you thought you had the power to do it, and you destroyed relationships.
And anybody that knows anything about me, call me petty, call me whatever you want. We’re never gonna be friends again….When somebody shows you who they are, believe them,” White said.
Following that, host Tomi Lahren asked whether White believed mixing business with personal friendships was a mistake. He responded that, based on his experience, it often leads to complications.
“It’s a really bad idea in my experience,” he said. “…Being in business with your friends is definitely difficult, and it’s not a great idea.”
