Tito Ortiz interview recap

The following is an interview conducted by Mauro Ranallo of Fight Network Radio with UFC star Tito Ortiz last week – catch Fight Network Radio Monday – Friday at 3pm EST on Hardcore Sports Radio on Sirius Channel 186 – www.hardcoresportsradio.com

Thanks for joining us Tito. How are you?

Ortiz: Pretty good man! Actually I’m up in Big Bear right now. I just came up here for a couple weeks to get back in shape before I go back down the mountain to start training and getting ready for my next fight.

Great to hear! And before we get into your next fight and what’s happening MMA wise, I need to know Tito, who’s a tougher boss to work for: Donald Trump or Dana White?

Ortiz: Oh, Dana White hands down. Dana White’s a jackass. At least I look up to Donald Trump.

A lot of people make so much about the relationship between you and Dana White. You have one fight left on your contract. Why is there so much bad blood between you two?

Ortiz: I don’t know. I guess it just really comes down to them trying to hold the fighters down, you know, they don’t like the fighters to be as big as a Tyson or a De la Hoya, or those types, because of all of a sudden they’ll start receiving a lot more payment and expecting to see a lot more payment and that’s something that, you know, I see the big picture. I’ve been eating up the crumbs for so long and you know, UFC makes about 90 per cent of the money and the rest goes to the fighters. Our one per cent ain’t nothing compared to what they make on merchandising, on pay per view and everything else they make money on throughout the whole world.

It seems to me that that seems to be becoming more and more common, of course, we know what’s going on with Randy Couture and his situation with the UFC, but you know - we have Big John McCarthy in studio here as well.

Ortiz: What’s up Big John!?!

McCarthy: What’s up Tito? How you doing brother!?!

Ortiz: Really good man, just uh, you know, just trying to get my nails to the grindstone now. Just pretty much got forced into a fight and either way, you know, I thought I was fighting Rashad, but all of a sudden I guess Rashad’s afraid of me or Rashad didn’t want to fight me, so all of a sudden they said they wanted me to fight Machida. I’m like Machida? Machida who? And I’ll just make it a bigger fight. I think the fans expect it to be a bigger fight, but you know, I got pressed into it all of a sudden. It’s all over the net, saying that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida and this and that. Which is fine, that’s fine; I have nothing against Machida, you know he’s a great fighter, but I’m just looking to get my last fight over with in UFC.

McCarthy: Don’t you think if you go in there against Machida, since you know, he’s kind of pushed himself into a position where he could challenge for the Light Heavyweight title. If you go and beat him, don’t you think you put yourself right back there?

Ortiz: Yeah completely, but you know, with Dana in charge, I really don’t think that fight will ever happen for me. You know, I really think Dana has bad blood for me and that’s a lot of bad blood and they’re going to try to ruin me. I’m five ounces of pain, yesterday I believe it was where they said the UFC’s pressured me into it and Machida’s not really an accomplished fighter, which is fine. I think Machida matches well against me. I think it should make an exciting fight.

McCarthy: Yeah it does. I think it’s going to be a great fight between the two of you. You guys match up. You’re both what you’re strong points are. A little bit weak in one area; strong in another. You guys are going to be awesome together.

Ortiz: Yeah I really think so. You know, I think it’ll be an action packed fight, as a Tito Ortiz pay per view always is.

You know Tito, the way you answered that, a few minutes ago, you said “my last fight in the UFC.” Now, win or lose, are you going to re-sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and what is in your future if you don’t?

Ortiz: You know, as of now, I went to a negotiation with them (UFC) and their attorneys and I had to push it over to my attorney, because they said that I wasn’t worth the money. I was not worth no more than what I’m getting paid now and I’m not a a commodity to them anymore, I’m not as valuable to them anymore. That was a sign of disrespect and you know, I think I’m just going to finish this last fight and sit back. You know I’ll be a free agent for the first time in my career and there’s a lot of other bigger companies that are out and about and I want someone that’s going to push me in front, you know, in the very beginning of the UFC, I was the flag bearer. I was the person out doing the interviews and showing how good of a sport it is. Now all of a sudden, I’m not. I watched the, not last UFC, but the UFC prior and there was no pictures of me at all. They said that Light Heavyweight title range of all these competitors and my picture wasn’t shown with any of the light heavyweights. So it kind of showed that they’re just trying to phase me out. Which is fine, I mean I’m going to be here for another three to four more years and I plan on competing for a lot longer and if UFC is going to press me, let it be done, but by the way they’re showing, you know, their true colours, it seems like they don’t want me to be there, which is fine, and I have no problem looking elsewhere. I’ve been here from the very beginning; I’ve made myself and I’ll continue doing it and if it’s with another company, then it is. But I think the biggest thing is my fans. My fans are the ones who love to watch me fight and will buy the pay per view to watch me fight, so it doesn’t matter where I’m at, just as long as I fight.

It’s very true. Tito what you said, because when it comes right down to it, whether they want to watch you lose or watch you win. You are, and John McCarthy and I were talking about it, you’re one of the biggest draws in mixed martial arts history, even coming off of your series of fights with Ken Shamrock and maybe Chuck Lidell, you know, two of the biggest draws in the UFC history and speaking of that, now, you mentioned how they’re trying to rub you out so to speak, we are very surprised, because of your appearance on, you know, a network television show “Celebrity Apprentice” and yet there’s no mention of it anywhere on the website, on TV. It kind of makes you scratch your head.

Ortiz: I’m not scratching my head at all. I’ve been living with this for the last four years, you know, Randy Couture’s going through exactly the same thing that I went through. For me, getting on Celebrity Apprentice was my own doing. It had nothing to do with Zuffa or Dana or anything like that, you know. Donald Trump came to me and he noticed my skills and he wanted to see how I could show them on the Apprentice and I came in and I did it. You know, I did very very well. I might have even won it. You guys are going to have to watch and find out. But you know, I’m a business man and you know I’m a fighter at heart, and I see another three year span in my career to compete and possibly win another world title, but you know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but as I build my name as a household name, I just got to continue. Whether it’s the company that’s pushing me forward or it’s myself that’s pushing me forward, I’m going to make it happen no matter what.

McCarthy: Tito you used to have Dana as your manager back a long long time ago, and I know that all went away when Zuffa bought the UFC and everything and they did try to press you into getting in then and there was that point where, you know they decided that you weren’t the guy. You have been that guy for the UFC all that time. Is that the disrespect that you’re looking at from Dana that has caused this problem?

Ortiz: I think so 100 per cent, you know, and it’s Dana kind of protecting his company. He’s trying to say oh, you guys, it’s kind of funny, because you watch before the fights and you talk about the guys. The guys can’t see you. You can’t see your sponsors and can’t talk about money, but I’m not talking about money to my fans. I’m talking about money to the company that accepted all the money on pay per view. I could care less about the fans paying more money, because they’re not. They’re going to pay the $45 or the $50 no matter what. It’s automatic. What I’m concerned about is the company taking all that money and not giving it back to the fighters and that’s what people got to understand. When I first started, there wasn’t that many people in the audience and the pay per view buys weren’t that big, but as it started growing, I think the fighters need to grow with the company itself. UFC is caring so much about the brand itself, they could care less about the fighters “Fighters are a dime a dozen, they’ll keep coming.” Most of the champions now, you know they’re great champions, but at the same time, they don’t speak English. It’s really funny, because a lot of guys right here in the United States that watch the fighters, they want to fall in love with them; they want to have something that’s in common with them and myself growing up in the UFC, a lot of fans got to be intrigued to that. Same thing with Randy Couture and Chuck Lidell. A lot of these guys, of course were great fighters, but at the same time, we had someone behind us that pushed us. That was the start power.

Tito, obviously don’t want to get into your personal life too much. Your relationship with Jenna Jameson but it seems to me my friend that she has really helped you from a business standpoint. Even talking to John. Just how much of an impact has Jenna had on the way you now look at yourself as a commodity?

Ortiz: You know, it’s not really that much different. I have always seen the same picture, but you know, Jenna, just the little small, the little small few things. Just with contract-wise, that’s about as much as she’s helped me with. There’s been a couple decisions I’ve made and she kind of was voting against it and I said no I’m going to go with it and I went with it and I was thankful I did it and you know she’s helped me a little bit, but I just got a great companion. I got a great girl who respects me 100 per cent. She retired in her business and she’s willing to move on and with myself and her next to me, it just feels like we’re a power couple man. We bring the best out of each other.

McCarthy: You are a power couple. Is this really about money, or is it also about control? Control of you as a fighter, control of your personality and control of what you say and do, is that the part that’s affecting this?

Ortiz: You know, I understand with the UFC. I just want a company that’s going to be behind me 100 per cent, and with UFC, they’re not behind me 100 per cent. It kind of hurts my feelings a lot, but you know it’s business and at the same time you know, it seems like Dana is really out for himself and his company. He don’t give a s**t about the fighters and you know. Couture was their number one guy, he was doing all the commentating, doing everything, doing this and doing that, then all of sudden when Randy stepped down, I’m starting to see the big picture now and you guys are making all the money and I’m making nothing and people say well you guys make a million a fight. Well yeah we make a million a fight but we still got to pay $500, 000 to the government and all of a sudden that million becomes 500 grand in our pocket and it changes a whole bunch when a main event fighter is making a million, 2 million a half a fight and the company’s making 45 million. What’s wrong in that picture right there? And Randy Couture sees that and that’s why he pretty much said “You know, I give up with it. I’m over,” and I was the first person to do that, you know, when I fought Vitor Belfort, I was the same way, I just sit back and I relaxed and fighting for my name and my likeness and my image. That was really important for me and I pulled that off and now it’s really about the pay per view dollars. It’s about the merchandising. All a lot of stuff they do, as far as the video gaming, all it says is “I’m going to make you a superstar” and I bet you all the fighters are listening now that are fighting for the UFC, how many times has Dana White said that to them “I’m going to make you a superstar.” I don’t want to be a superstar, I want to be a multi-millionaire when I put my life on the line.

You have been known to add fuel to the fire on occasion Tito. I got to ask you, what about the airing last week of that special again around your boxing fight with Dana, I mean, what kind of a message was that sending yet again?

Ortiz: It’s fine, that’s cool and people should probably know that’s all old and that’s Dana kind of showing how Dana is a superstar. Dana White wants to be a superstar. It’s kind of funny because I was online the other day and I saw some fight show and it had “special appearance by Dana White,” and he was on the poster and I started laughing. I was like “wow” but Dana White giving the s**t to everybody else for coming to a show and using their likeness and image and saying “you can’t do it,” “you can’t help promote a fight”. When Couture was dealing with IFL, he said “Dana White’s allowed to go to another show and say that he’s doing a guest appearance,” but once again it goes now to Dana White wanting to be a superstar. He envies each and every one of us fighters and that’s who he wants to be, because he’s never been a champion, and he’s never been a fighter and that’s what he’s always wanted to do and you know it’s fine.

Saturday, Sean Sherk was on the pay per view. He’s been stripped of his title of course, suspended for drugs. I’m just wondering why there’s this pro wrestling esque control over how the broadcast is done where they’re not allowed to acknowledge other promotions. They’re not allowed to acknowledge the truth. Isn’t that an insult to your fans?

McCarthy: They didn’t even mention Randy Couture’s name because BJ Penn was the second person to win two titles in two different weight classes.

What do you make of that Tito?

Ortiz: I make of it that Dana’s sitting there pointing fingers, telling people what to do and you know, Dana’s the one that’s going to screw up the UFC, you know, it seems as though the company’s going to go down now because of them. After I finish my fight, I have a lot of news to break, but you know, I’m going to finish my fight and I’m going to finish my contract as I said I was, you know, I’m going to be the man I am, step in the octagon. I’ll fight Machida. I have no problem with that at all and you know, when my hand’s raised in victory, you know, I’m going to continue with my career either with the UFC or without them.

Well Tito, I’ve announced many fights with Pride and a lot of other shows, but I have yet to announce a Tito Ortiz fight hum hum *hint* *hint* so if you’re ever thinking of moving on, you know there’s a promotion that might be willing to anti up

Ortiz: You know, I just want a promotion that’s going to back me and that’s going to be behind me 100 per cent. I’m a star in this sport and I’ve worked my butt off, you know, and not just fighting but doing you know, promotion stuff, speech classes and just to help me get myself on business saavy side. You know, I present myself in front of the camera with all the fans that are watching very well. You know, whether it’s the smack I talk or it’s the fight I back up. Whatever it is, but it’s just that, I’m not just a fighter. I’m continuing my career and going on and I want a company that’s going to back me 100 per cent. If it’s UFC, Elite XC, I mean whatever company that’s going to back me and as soon as they back me I’m going to be there 100 per cent.

Give me the website quick Tito, what’s the website?

Ortiz: www.punishment.com, check it out. My other one of course is www.titoortiz.com

Thank you for joining us Tito.

(Transcribed by Blaine van der Griend)

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