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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