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UFC News: Ex-UFC Champion Lashes Out At Dana White: 'They Try to Cancel Me'

One of the UFC's original bad boys remains bitter regarding feud with Dana White.

Zain Bando

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena.
Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; UFC president Dana White during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer, Tito Ortiz, has finally pulled back the curtain regarding his failed 2016 boxing match against UFC CEO Dana White.

Ortiz made an appearance on the "Overdogs Podcast" with former UFC fighter and current BKFC standout Mike Perry to discuss a variety of topics, including his tumultuous relationship with White. To this day, the relationship has yet to fully amend itself. Ortiz said White, 54, had agreed to box the then-UFC megastar, but only on his terms. Ortiz claimed that White did not agree to the original terms of the contract, which White has refuted in several interviews over the years.

According to Ortiz, the fight never happened due to business practices not aligning, which the former champion said he has since gotten over.

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"It's something that was never gonna happen because Dana said that we couldn't do the contract that he agreed upon prior, saying 50-50 on any money that was [run] from this revenue."

"And I agreed upon that. They [the UFC] went through Spike TV who said, 'No, we're not gonna make any money off this.' And I go, 'Yeah, but what about all the sponsorships?' And he goes, 'Well, that's something different.' [White was] not thinking I understood the business model because I understood the business model. That's why they tried to cancel me."

Ortiz said he has no ill-will toward anyone at the UFC and fully recognized it needed to run its business a specific way to become successful. It's safe to assume White, the UFC and Ortiz will never be on good terms again, but only time will tell.

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Zain Bando

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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