Photo: mmaweekly.com
“Tito is a f—ing idiot. He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever met. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense…. I put up with his s— when he was a good fighter. He’s not anymore…. He’s not in anybody’s Top 10. I have no interest whatsoever in being in the Tito Ortiz business…. I’ve never wanted to see anyone get their ass kicked worse than I want to see Tito get his kicked next Saturday night.”
– UFC President Dana White beat around the bush in a recent UFC 84: “Ill Will” conference call earlier this afternoon when Tito Ortiz was mentioned. White decided to remain tight-lipped about his thoughts on who he wants to win when Ortiz steps inside the Octagon for possibly the last time against Lyoto Machida at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24. Perhaps closer to fight night we’ll get a better feel for what he really thinks about the match up and “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” Stay tuned.
125 Comments »
God, I wish those two would have boxed… Dana won’t have to worry much longer…Tito will be gone, and Affliction will pay him big… speaking of which… is this fight in Anaheim really happening? I can’t find it on the Honda center site or ticketmaster…anybody know?
Dana is killing the Ufc by pushing these second-tier fighters into main event matches. No one is going to pay to see Hughes/Alves. I like Forrest but hes 1-2 over his last 3 meaningful fights, Jardine is 2-1 with a victory over Forrest but hes less marketable so Dana poops on him. The under card on that PPV features Bisping v. Day (who?)
Jason Day had only one fight in the UFC, and he won it by TKO, and it was against Alan Belcher, who isn’t bad. And Jason Day is fighting Michael Bisping, because Chris Leben is going to be in jail for 35 days. So, don’t say “who?” to Jason Day, because anything can happen in MMA.
When did MMA fans turn into such little bitches? If you only want to see the champions fight, tune into MMA 4 times a year then go away.
The rest of us love to watch fights. I’d watch my 2 neighbors fight if I had the chance. Complaining about Hughes & Alves is joke. You’re talking about one of the best fighters in the history of MMA and you up and comer who’s top 5 in the world.
Dana sucks! But Joe Silva makes the fights.
Alves has far too much to lose to fight Hughes. Should he(Alves) lose then his title shot looks mighty shaky. Unless hes on the Bisping program where the company wants to get you over so bad that they give you victories(Hamill.) Where does the UFC go if Hughes wins? Another shot at St. Pierre? Hughes shouldnt if hes smart. Theres no dispute that Jason “who” Day is a quality fighter but hes obviously just another easy out for Bisping on his way to the title shot. And that match is a headliner…
day replaced leben, which would have been an awesokme fight. I was looking forward to that one, but Chris is gonna be incarcerated
Machida is going to simply outclass Jacob Ortiz. For the people who think Tito will win, I feel for u guys!
Cant wait to see Tito leave the UFC. Tito cant beat anyone. He wont beat:
UFC’s Machida
and he sure as hell cant beat Afflictions Lindland and no way he beats Babalu
I honestly believe that Tito Ortiz will never beat a top fighter again.
He cant beat:
Machida
Babalu
Frank Shamrock
or a middleweight Lindland
Instead of Machida, I would have liked to see a rematch vs. Rashad…..If those 2 ever fight again I promise that Rashad would decisively beat Jacob Ortiz!
Tito is the most washed up top fighters in mma, and should be happy to be earning the $250,000 per fight he has been making in the UFC. If Fighter pay was soley based on previous fight performance, Jacob would be lucky to earn $20,000 a fight. He does not even deserve top opponents…in reality he should be fighting on the untelevsised pre lims… However, Marketing is becoming more important then actual fight abality, so Tito will continue to ear Big, undeserving, pay days!
my money is on the 2-1 dog, Tito. And would all you so called Sean Sherk fans please put your money where your mouth is and please bet the odds down a little!
Jason Day’s been around for a while, he’s got a good resume (wins over Belcher, Loiseau and Goulet), and puts on an exciting fight. The Hughes-Alves fight also seems interesting, with Alves wanting to prove himself and Hughes wanting to show that he isn’t over the hill. I’ll certainly be watching…
Thats a silly statement. All of this card was put together on short notice after the main event fell through. And until Leben had to drop out, it was regarded as one of the better cards to recently come out. Alves is also regarded as next in line after Fitch for a title shot so here he is putting his contention on the line against the second best WW in the world. How can you argue that? Then they have a legend on the card against Jardine? Don’t you think that if Jardine can beat him he’ll have a shot next? Also note that I’m not one to say Forrest deserves a title shot but right now niether does Jardine. He Lost to Alexander right after he beat Forrest. How does that get him a title shot. Beat Silva and I would definetly think he deserves a title shot, had he beaten Houston he would be on TUF right now.
Do you forget that the Hughes card changed because of injuries. Originally it was to be Chuck vs. Shogun, which granted would be way more exciting, but Dana had little to do with this card sucking ass. Plus he doesn’t actually book the fights.
i thought a good businessman doesnt mix his feeling with business. I thing good bout tito hate him or love him you cannot denie he is gd fighter.
Actually I think Dana lets you know he hates him and that he isn’t a good fighter. I’ll have to agree with Dana, he may be a “good” fighter but he over rates himself and he wouldn’t beat any of the top contenders. Machida will pick him apart and then we can finally see the last or Ortiz in the Octagon.
tickets go on sale may 20th
…just noticed.. look at the shirt Dana is wearing in the photo.. coincidence?
ha…I didnt notice it, but now that you mention it….pretty funny.
that picture is hella old….way before the Affliction ban. Dana is all about image. If you saw your dad wearing the same clothes he does you would laugh.
how unprofessional…at least he doesnt pretend like he cares about Tito which would be worse…..whatever, funny thing is, I thought Dana said the rankings are bullsh*t??? He is so contradictory…I’m not a big fan of Tito, but come on Dana, just shut your mouth and let the future play out next weekend, hes gonna fell like a real idiot if Tito somehow demolishes Lyota in the Octagon
Well, the rankings are bs in the sense that they don’t agree so it’s hard to trust any one ranking system. However, if a guy like Tito doesn’t make anyone’s top ten list than chances are, he isn’t top ten.
i completely agree! i mean u wouldnt ever see commisioner of the NBA getting into a feud with his players.
No, just the owners. David Stern personally screwed the Mavericks out of the 2006 title. After he saw the Heat couldn’t beat Dallas straight up he ordered the refs to put D-wahhhh-ne Wade on the free throw line every time he touched the ball, all to spite Cuban. Now he’s orchestrating an underhanded and possibly illegal move of the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City, despite the fact that the move violates the terms of the sale agreement between the previous owner and Stern’s OKC oilman buddy. Sorry to take off on an off-topic rant. Oh yeah, Jacob is terrible, and the UFC won’t miss him.
Does anybody believe that this is anything more than shameless promotion????
Nope.
I think it’s hilarious. I can’t stand Tito, and while Dana isn’t the most eloquent person, he never ceases to make me laugh at his bluntness.
comment was pretty funny… must be an old picture.
Tito is a boring fighter and Affliction ain’t gonna pay him dick.
WORD TO THAT! And if they do, majority of there rost (besides Fedor) only has like 2-3 fights left in their careers so they wont be paying him for long, Tito/Babalu would be decent, but then what . . . I kinda want to see Tito with that middle finger in the air as he spits in Danas face after the fight, hopefuly he wont only do this if he wins cause then we wont get to see it. It was fun Tito, see ya in MMA sindication . . .
Elite XC is interested in Tito, they can feed him cans and make him their “Undisputed Champion”. The UFC is doing the right thing by getting rid of Tito.
Dana’s a punk that talks like he’s a tough fu&^. He should nut-up and walk into the street with any of these guys (Randy or Tito or Lindland) that he has his problems with.
Yeah, that’s the funny part… Dana deep down Dana is a wanna’ be MMA Fighter.
truest thing i’ve ever heard…
Who backed out of the boxing match, Dana or Jacob?
Ortiz pulled a no show.
Sounds to me like Tito’s the bitch
Nope. Tito backed out cuz he wanted 50% of the profit from the boxing match. Dana said F*** you so Tito backed out.
Tito started to become a business guy when his skills started to wane. He is alot of things but a pussy, he is not. Don’t be such a hater.
I’m not a hater, it was supposed to be a fight for charity. Tito spouts off that he is worth more than he is. If he beats Machida then he’ll have a valid claim. Seeing as how he isn’t going to beat Machida he’s over rated and asking for more than he’s worth. I think that I’m justified in this claim.
You ain’t justified in calling a fighter a pussy, that’s for sure…
First off I called him a bitch, second he is. He may take a couple fights but he ducked Liddell and he isn’t going to be taking any top contenders. He “was” a good fighter back in the days but he hasn’t done anything to improve and he talks like he’s still the champ. He’s a bitch
Just a thought, but it was kinda late when they found out they were going to have to meet athletic commission rules for their fight. Tito may have been at the wrong point of a “performance enhancing” cycle to want to be tested. But again, that’s just a thought. (Previous comment intended to be funny. Tito should have shown up for the boxing match, but in his defense, he says that Dana said nothing about the money going to charity before the fight was called off).
Smokes :
Chuck beat him twice. How is that ducking him?
Ducking means you DO NOT ever face the guy. He did. He got beat.
A bitch does not take ass whuppings. They run.
Don’t be disrespectful of someone who can tear your head off, dude.
Especially from a computer.
Montana good point, I didn’t know Dana didn’t let Tito know it was charity before hand, I just assumed… my fault.
OJR re-read what I said Tito ducked a Lidell fight while Tito had the belt, I think this was because he was scared to lose the belt. He ducked because he had something to lose. When Chuck had the belt he defended it twice against Tito and didn’t duck Tito like Tito had ducked him. Does this make sense? Tito was trying to hold onto the belt as long as he could even though he knew there was a fighter that was better than him. He doesn’t prove anything by fighting a guy when he doesn’t have anything to lose in the fight, he wanted the belt back so he fought nuff said. I know Tito could waste me, he isn’t even close to my weight class, I’d be fighting Faber but I’ll tell you what, you pay me 50k and I’ll fight Tito. Don’t think I’m kidding either because I’ll admit he’ll whoop my ass but I’ll fight him for that kind of money. So does this all make sense as to why I don’t like Tito?
Smokes, I’d fight him for free just to say I did fight tito…
Right on, I’d still like some money for the hospital bill though, you feel me?
Too bad cause Tito is gona expose Machida.
hahah you must be kidding right?
cause anybody that watches mma can tell tito is way past his prime and machida is a superstar on the brink!
And i dont care what people say i still love dana… what other boss has the balls to say that about there employees?
mike we are on the same page, dana speaks his mind ad he not afraid of what people think of him! and more importantly he loves the sport!
uhmm… My boss talks like that and I bet there are alot out there doesn’t matter what nature the job is..
Where the hell do you work? haha! If my boss told me I was a “F*cking Idiot” and said he wanted to “see me get my ass kicked” I couldn’t imagine any scenario that wouldn’t end with me kicking his ass, and I work for family. lol
He reminds me alot of George Steinbrenner. Look how far Steinbrenner’s attitude has taken the Yankees. When Georgie took the Yankees over in the 70’s he fired them up into greatness. It took some time yeah, and he spent a whole bunch of money to get them there(which Dana could afford to do) but overall the brash attitude had turnd a flailing Yankees team(courtesey of CBS) into a the worlds most popular franchise. I understand alot of the Yankees reputation was solidfied in eralier eras but he brought them back to par with his attitude. So if Dana pisses a few people off and steps on some toes on the way to greatness then so be it. Every now and again breaking the rules creates success. With Dana that has proven so. Love him or hate him he is putting out the best and most consistent product out there. To hell with all these second teir fighters and b level fighters. To be the best you must employee the best and with the exception of Fedor, Dana has employeed or currently employees the best. There are very few fighters out there that are deservant of UFC contracts.
I have a funny feeling that Tim Sylvia is going to crush Coutures dream of fighting the unbeaten Fedor.
tito will not expose him in any way! machida has him covered on all bases! tito is on his way out, hes lost his edge!
I think he might expose a weakness or two (if there is one???) of Lyotos but he wont capitalize on them and he’ll lose in a decision, barely. Like 30-29’s across the board. But this will help Machidas next opponent cause youll actually get to see him fight for more than a couple minutes and see how he does against a former WC.
30-29’s huh? how deep d’you wanna dig into your pocket on that bet?
That should have said 30-27s across the board . . .Random Typo
You guys really have that much confedence in Machida? Will there be any excuse if he looses? You guys say Tito is past his prime and I agree with you on that. But to say Machida will beat Tito easily is crap. The only way I see Machida winning is by a boring decision. Machida doesn’t have KO power, and Titos got a dam good chin, it took alot of shots from Chuck to put him away. Machida’s submission game is not that good, When was the last time Tito got submitted, 1999 to Frank Shamrock and 1997 to Guy Mezger. So agian I ask you guys if you still have that much confedence in Machida?
I do have confidence in Machida but if Machida loses there will be no excuses. Unless its like a controversial decision but if Tito finishes him nobody here is going to question it. As for the submission deal, when was the last time he faced a submission specialist? He faced primarily stikers and Chuck literally embarrassed him in that fight not to mention Randy turned him over and spanked him during their fight. Honestly I don’t see anyway Tito can win this unless he lucks out and it does go to decision.
Smokes you think Machida is a submission specialist? WHAT!!! his fighting style is Karate not BJJ and he only has 2 submissions on his record. How does 2 subs make Machida a specialist? You say when was the last time Tito fought a submission specialist? Ken & Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Vitor Belfort, all submission style fighters, that should answer your question. Ken Shamrock had 22 submission wins when he ran into Tito in there first fight, is that enough for you? Ken is what I would consider a specialist. Machida is not a dragon, he’s more like a ” BUTTERFLY “
I posted something in reply to this awhile ago but it didn’t show up. No man I don’t think Machida is a submission specialist, my fault after re-reading my post is does look like thats what I implied. Ken Shamrock was trying to bang with Tito when they faced and I don’t think he really gave Tito any trouble on the ground. Vitor Belfort has two submission victories on his record, so that wasn’t his style of winning fights. Also Frank Shamrock beat Tito into submission (I believe because he was a better ground guy) so losing to him doesn’t help his case. He beat Guy but Guy likes to strike alot as well and this was during Tito’s better years. I would like to know though where you think Tito can win this fight, and top position is kind of the only way I think Tito can win but I don’t see him getting control of Machida. I will also point out that Machida may be a bit of a boring fighter but he does have credible wins under his belt, like beating Sokoudjou, Penn, Bonnar, McDonald, and of course Franklin.
We can go back and forth all day, but your right about where Tito can win this fight. Tito is bigger, stronger, and if Tito took down Rashad, I think he can take Machida down too (hopefully) And that might be the only spot cause Machida will run in the stand up.
haha! go dana!
Is there a classier ceo out there.
As far as CEO’s go, I’ll take Dana’s profanity with a profitable company over some of these crooked bastards who can run companies into the ground with their gross mismanagement, cost stockholders and employees billions in lost stock and benefits and still either keep their position or leave with an 8- or 9-figure golden parachute.
Hi folks,
I follow this site every day but I normally do not comment unless I see or read something I do not understand.
Tito is a fighter and Dana is a very weird personality. Dana needs to take a longer term look at his enterprise and decide if he wants fighters or actors. I started watching this sport around 8 years ago and I liked it then and I love it now because it has one important feature,it is real. When I hear these two meat heads yacking at one another it makes me want to change the channel.
.
Dana’s idol is Vince and he would love to have his own WWE.
Before we know, it will be a little soap opera but with real fights. (would not surprise me if Dana stays around for a while.)
Tito runs his mouth about being treated like a Champion. Tito dodged Lidell when he had the title IMO because he knew he’d lose, then wehen Chuck had the belt he faced Tito twice and wasted him, Randy faced him once and spanked him, Forrest faced him and lost a controversial decision, he faced Rashad but lost because he wouldn’t let Rashad do what he does best and take him to the matt, and he dodged Dana twice for a grudge boxing match. Dana IMO is a non bull kind of guy, don’t shout out at the mouth until you have good reason too. Dana can be dumb when it comes to certain fights like AA but in the case or Ortiz he’s right on the money, to get that loud mouth out of the UFC face him up against a top ten guy who will pick him apart. Its the smartest thing you can do, you know as soon as Tito goes to another org he’ll be talking shit so lets cut down his reputation and make him look like an ass that dooesn’t win. I think Machida will beat him in the early second by TKO.
I gotta be a Tito defender on this one.
First of all, Tito has taken his beatdowns like a man. Twice to Chuck and once to Randy (recently). He talks shit to promote his fights so he can make $$$.
He was nothing but class to his fighters on TUF when he could have acted like a stuck up ass. He put his belt around Randy when he lost and called a truce with Shamrock after their last fight.
Tito and Dana don’t get along, so what. Randy and Dana don’t get along, either. Arlovski is leaving. See the pattern? It’s all about the $$$.
Machida by UD.
Dana is selling it. Straight up, selling it and everyone is buying. Either they’re both in on it and know this shit is pumping up viewership for the PPV, or he knows it’s Tito’s last UFC PPV and he wants to milk every penny he still can.
machida is overated like a houston alexnder and so on. he hasnt beat anyone at 205 worth mentioning. tito is gonna beat the sh*t out of him. machida is garbage!!
Im sure rich franklin, soko, bonner, and nakamora are absolute nobodies. I dont understand the tito nut huggers? Why? WHY??????? Tito is a has been and he never was, he cant do anything, he beat middle weights when he was champ, YA, Hes NEVER finished a quility opponent, he scraches by on lay/pray, THAT IS NOT REAL FIGHTER, REAL FIGHTERS COME TO FINISH FIGHTS NOT SCORE POINTS. That is all tito does is score points, he isn’t a fighter hes a joke… may 24 will finally prove to everyone just what a joke he was and is, machida is gonna make him look stupid, much much worse than chuck does…
besides rich u tell me which one of the others will ever become close to being a champ! and i dnt think tito will either. but do u honestly think machida has a chance against tougher opponents??? chuck, wandy, hendo, ???seriously?
Apparently, BJ Penn isn’t a champion of any division in the UFC or ever was.
Oh yeah, but did you know Machida beat BJ Penn?
You can argue that Machida lost his fight with Sam Greco in K1 Heros (was a really close split decision), and a lot of people think he actually lost that BJ Penn fight (fight metric scores it for Penn). Machida is damn good but all these people acting like he is unbeatable are riding the hype machine a little too hard.
Not to mention that BJ Penn is a natural 155 pound fighter who fought Machida at 205.
And you can argue that Tito lost to Forrest, but those are all debateble(spelling?).
Soko is young, he has a chance to become a future champ. Machida will decision Tito. The guys that Machida has beat and the guys that Tito has beat is comparable.
first off the comment said “beat someone at 205 worth mentioning” bj penn will never fight at 205 again and if he did he would suck. bj is up and down in his career…i dnt give a shit how flexible he is or whatever. when bj penn defends a belt a few times then ill call him a champion!
let me guess NewGuy…you got into MMA with TUF 6? Tito is a UFC HOF’er without a doubt.
P.S. Tito was a middleweight for a lot of his championship run.
Yes, Jacob WAS a UFC champion, but he is way past his prime. Hell, Kurt Warner was an NFL MVP once, but now he is a back-up on a crappy team. And the list of people Jacob beat as champion is not exactly a who’s who of MMA.
and Kurt Warner was in his early-mid 30’s when he was called at his grocery store job to come play in the damn NFL. So MVP’s and WC’s can come from pretty much any angle. Don’t count Tito out yet…
tuff guy, you are entitled to your opinion but you are so wrong about Machida. Not only will he beat Ortiz, but he will have the belt by next year. He is the most skilled fighter in the division and most everybody will agree after his next couple fights.
hey i might be! maybe the hype is real! but in my opinion i do not ever see him getting threw the tougher opponents at 205 in the ufc.
I agree with everything Dana said. Tito needs to see a shrink
This can definitely be a statement fight for Tito, I hope he walks out with a convincing win.
Im bemused by the whole thing, on one side theres tito the ex-champ who has helped make mma what it is today through his ex pal dana!
On the other there is dana, help take down tito who helped him make ufc what it is today!! WTF seriously??! They should both grow up and start doing what they do best, one organising great cards and the other making fights and cards exciting!! Yeah tito is not the force he once was but he is still an attraction and id pay to watch, so on the business side of things its a poor move by the ufc!! Lets face it he helped the most famous mma star Chuck Liddell become the legend he is today, as chuck beat him twice, so discrediting tito like this is kinda discerditing everything mma is all about!!
I do admit I loved seeing Chuck beat on Tito.
Also what if?? just what if tito beats machida?? then dana is gony look like an ass!!
Fights are only won in the octagon, I agree that Machida hasnt fought to the level of Tito, for one Franklin is a great fighter but he fights at 185, tito could make heavy weight.
Watch this space, i really think Tito gives machida his first loss……time will tell…. the beauty of it is that we are all still talking about The Huntington Beach Bad Boy, love him or hate him hes exciting!!
nice shirt Dana!….
I dont know why but I just have this weird feeling that this is a hoax. Dana has said it before that he loves the WWE’s business plan. I can totally see Tito making it look like he is going to leave the UFC and then all of a sudden we are all watching UFC 90 and here comes TITO running down the aisle after a match to announce that he is back and he wants to challenge Randy Couture on his 50th birthday…
Seriously I havent watched WWE in years but when I was a kid you always saw Vince get choke slammed by some wrestler who was fueding with him…
I agree that TITO has lost his touch but he still pulls numbers. I dont think Tito can beat Lyota and I really think that if Tito gets his ass whooped that its going to seriously hurt his bargining power.
Tito is very similar to Jenna Jameson, they are both still relatively young but neither has much tread left on the tires…
Great post. I agree 100% with your analysis of the entire situation.
Machida via dominating 2nd round TKO. No questions.
He has fought who he has been told to fight and his confidence is getting much greater with every fight he has.
Tito is going out of the UFC and after his beating in this fight I see him struggling to make a decent name anywhere else either.
For all the above on Tito’s nutsack need to wake up and realise this guy is a boring LNP fighter and always has been and can only sell fights by hyping up some imaginary beef.
Go Machida….retire this chump for good!
I dont think Tito is a great fighter, but i do hope he wins this fight just so that i can see the tshirt he has lined up which will be slagging off Dana and the ufc. Would be great if Tito and Dana got into a scuffle after the fight.
Tito will not win this one… it will be a pretty boring Machida UD.
looks like Tito will be gone to EliteXC after this bout.
I dont like Tito but I think if thats the way Dana comes out and treats his fighters then the UFC really is going to be screwed when real competition like Affliction, Dream and EliteXc gets going. There are alternatives for fighter now so Dana should be real careful about how he treats his fighters and how he expresses himself in public. I am a Brazilian and am going to be cheering for Machida, but if Tito was to win it would be very funny. Having said that I cant help but wonder if this match goes the distance what influence will Dana have had on the