Tito Ortiz and Dana White’s Tense Relationship

In May, Tito Ortiz, a former UFC fighter, made an appearance on Outkick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless.” During the show, he joked about his non-existent rapport with UFC president Dana White, critiquing his intelligence each time White’s name came up.

Fast forward a month, White joined the same show, and Lahren seized the opportunity to mediate between the two MMA figures.

Lahren replayed a segment from Ortiz’s prior appearance and expressed her desire to learn the full context of their relationship.

White claimed that he did not purchase the UFC because of Ortiz, implying that Ortiz’s grasp on reality was questionable. “First of all, we didn’t buy the company because of Tito Ortiz,” he remarked. “That’s how mentally ill this guy is—number one. Second, yes, when we bought the company, we loved Tito. He was our guy at the time.”

White recounted how he managed Ortiz and Chuck Liddell when he took over the UFC, noting that their conflict began when Ortiz declined to fight Liddell. “Chuck Liddell came close to beating everyone…and Tito absolutely refused to fight him,” White explained. “Tito knew Chuck would beat him, so he wasn’t going to fight him. Ironically, that conflict helped build the UFC because fans loved the storyline.”

As the conversation continued, White elaborated on how his relationship with Ortiz soured. “Tito did something really stupid that destroyed a relationship, didn’t he?” White commented. He pondered what would happen if the UFC were to fail. “Would he want bygones to be bygones? No, he ruined the relationship by attempting something shady when he thought he had the power,” White stated, reaffirming that they would never be friends again. “When someone shows you who they really are, believe it.”

Your thoughts on mixed martial arts business relationships come into play here. White was asked by Lahren if forming business ties with friends is a bad idea, to which he replied, “From my experience, that’s a really bad idea…doing business with friends is certainly difficult and not a good idea.”