Never one to avoid any kind of confrontation, Tito Ortiz has once again voiced his displeasure with the UFC’s management and has said he will become a free agent after the final fight on his contract. Loretta Hunt at the FightNetwork.com has an excellent article covering Tito’s appearance on Monday’s Fight Network Radio show.
Ortiz’s love-hate relationship with the UFC, and more specifically president Dana White, has been well documented in the past. With only one fight left on his current contract, Ortiz has reportedly been dealing exclusively with Zuffa owner Lorenzo Fertita, bypassing White in the negotiations. It appears those negotiations led nowhere however, and now Tito will once again be vocal as he, most likely, will leave the orgainization.
“They said I wasn’t worth the money,” said Ortiz. “I was worth no more than what I’m getting paid now, and I’m not a commodity to them anymore. I’m not as viable to them anymore. That was a sign of disrespect.”
Ortiz also cited problems with the overall goals of the UFC, claiming the promotion is superior to the fighter in the minds of Zuffa management.
“They don’t want the fighters to get as big as a ‘Tyson’ or a ‘De La Hoya’ or one of those types because all of a sudden, they’ll be expecting to see a lot more payment,” said Ortiz. “The UFC makes about 99 percent of the money, and the rest goes to the fighters. That one percent ain’t nothing compared to what they make on merchandising, on pay-per-view, and everything else they make around the world.”
“UFC is caring so much about the brand itself,” said Ortiz. “They could care less about the fighters. Fighters are a dime a dozen. They’ll keep coming. Dana is really out for himself and the company. He doesn’t give a s*** about the fighters.”
Ortiz isn’t the first fight to express displeasure with the UFC’s treatment of its stars. Current UFC Heavyweight champion Randy Couture voiced many of the same concerns when he resigned from the UFC last year.
Tito also said he was unhappy with the UFC’s choice of his next opponent, Lyoto Machida. Ortiz, and the rest of the MMA world, was expecting a rematch with Rashad Evans after the two fought to a draw at UFC 73. While Ortiz said he was accepted the fight with Machida this coming May, he said he was looking for something “bigger.”
“I was expecting a bigger fight. I think the fans were expecting a bigger fight,” said Ortiz. “I got pressed into it, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the Internet that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida. I’m just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.”
While Tito, Randy, and many other UFC fighters do have the prerogative to be unhappy with the payscale in the UFC, I have to agree with the UFC management on several points.
First, Lorenzo Fertita is correct; Tito Ortiz simply isn’t worth the money he used to be. Ortiz isn’t the fighter he used to be and doesn’t have the same following that he did when MMA was a much smaller sport. While Tito is still a top level fighter, he isn’t head and shoulders above the rest of the division like he may have been in the past.
Ortiz acknowledged he has received roughly a million dollars for each of his recent fights and by my rough calculations that is probably closer to 15-20% of what the UFC made per event, not the 1% Tito claims. Factor this into the fact that the UFC is paying roughly 18 fighters per event, while boxing is paying approximately 8 (really just the 2 main fighters), and Tito is receiving the lion’s share of the profits each time he competes.
The other humorous aspect currently is the fact that fighters assume they will receive much better offers from competing MMA promotions. Sure, they may get a single fight with a huge payday or sign a 3-4 fight deal, but how many times have we seen these “mega” contract deals fall through when the promotion fails or simply cancels shows do to lack of funds. While the playing field is currently leveling out somewhat, the UFC still is easily the top-dog and can pay the most.
While Tito Ortiz will be a nice signing for another promotion, my guess is Tito will just be a headache for whatever organization he signs with.
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I agree Tito’s best days are way behind him. He has no chance of regaining the title and his fights are just not that exciting lately. 1 million a fight is good money for Tito. I also think Machida ia a better fight than rashad. Especially after his last fight. I think Tito is more concerned knowing he has a good chance of losing this fight more than against Evans. I’m kinda done with Tito and I think the UFC is also. He’s more trouble than he’s worth. At least Randy was still on top and competing at the highest level when he quit you can’t say the same thing for Tito. I’m sure Elite or someone will pick him up and act like he’s great putting him in with B level fighters but we all know better.
Tito is one of the biggest draws UFC has. They spent years riding his name, and he’s still at the top of the ppv buys. His appearance on Apprentice is only putting his name out there even more. He may not be the fighter that he used to be, but he still brings in the UFC a ton of money, and for that reason alone he is worth it to the UFC.
I agree with Drehog, this game is not only about fighting, like it or not, hype has ALOT to do with it. Thats why most of the smaller shows are hurting, they just have a bunch of guys fighting, when you have some story or history behind a fight it makes it more exciting.
Tito isnt even top 10 these days, but hes an MMA villain, one of those guys people love to hate! Personally, i like to see Tito on fight cards, just because im hoping he gets knocked out! lol.
All the talk about going somewhere else, blah blah.. Theres nowhere else to go man, the UFC runs sht. Like i said before and like Dr.J mentioned, he might get a one fight deal for decent pay, but theres no bright future anywhere else.
Krazy Horse back in the CAGE!!! or should i say CELL! LOL. Is anyone really surprised by this? domestic disturbance and assasult by strangulation..
“Is Krazy gonna have to choke a btch??” LOL sorry couldnt resist.
LMAO i spit pop out my f*ckin nose reading that!! is Krazy gonna hafta choke a b*tch lol
Tito is making a terrible move… people will be saying tito who? in a year from now… sucks… he should take what they are offering, fight, keep his name out there and sell his brands to make the big $ …. if he was smart he would do that…
whole sh*t Kansas where you been man?
I would like to know how much Tito was asking for.
So would I.
He was making over a million per fight, with a base salary of over $200,000.
What kind of numbers exactly was he looking for?
Tito has some very big expenses. can you imagine how much he spends on a single hat, with a head like that he must have to have even his pillows custom made lol.
good point. he must have to buy is hair dye by the gallon - that can’t be cheap either
like leben says… im gonna say tito sucks **** as a fighter
BVRASP, I couldn’t agree with u more.
Another thing is tito might be asking for some crazy numbers. A couple of millions perhaps. UFC can’t agree to that either. At the same time, I’m sure ufc takes pride in itself and think it is bigger than the fighters. Right now, ufc is bigger than the fighters.
I also believe tito should come to a compromise that he should just signed a couple of fight deal with ufc and looking to get out after a couple of wins (like randy). Some part of me tells me that tito doubt that he can beat machida. Machida is a much better fighter that rashad.
Plus, where can tito go from ufc? There is no other organisation bigger than ufc. Tito is trapped between a rock and a hard place.
I like tito but it will be a pity to see him go. If i’m tito and knowing my uncertain future, I probably can’t concentrate on my training for this fight (I expect tito to lose to machida). And tito burns so many bridges that it’s hard for him to ask anyone for help for his training anyway. He is also one dimensional fighter of course. People say tito passed his younger days, well i’m not sure that is completely true because I just think nowadays fighter tend to be more well rounded and can stuff a take down reasonably. That means what was really effective for tito before to win his fight is getting less and less effective to the extend that his style will become obsolete. Sigh…
Ya Hero, i think Tito still has some fights left in the UFC, his rematch with Rashaad, i would personally like to see a rematch with Wandy too! hehe.
tito blows
lol shut up Patrick
lol bv
what its true…. tito is finished….. he had his time…. made some wrong decisions…. and now i think he should look for a new career path… cuz he sucks ***** **** and balls as a fighter
we know hes done, but thats not the point, are you saying you want Tito to leave the UFC? then probably retire soon after?
bv
he needs to stop fighting in general…
no way Patrick, your saying he should stop just because hes not a contender. Hes still a CASH COW in the mma world. Win or Lose hes getting PAID man, hes obviously asking for more than he deserves, but thats how negotiations are, you go high, they go low, etc..
Ill be pissed if Wandy doesnt get a chance to avenge that loss to Tito.
good point bv
i dont think it will happen…. tito would make excuses not to fight him cuz he knows he will lose… i wonder what dennis would think about that… or wait im sorry i meant kansas lol
but you see what im saying Patrick? If he has half a brain, Tito will stay in the UFC. Reality shows wont pay the bills for Tito, hes got his clothing line and all that which is fine, but if he stops fighting, he will definatley have to tighten his belt.
Look at Tyson, he blew like 500mil in a few years LOL, he got robbed by his accountants, but even so, how is that possible???
tyson went through 500mil dam
ya, well some people say its closer to 300, but its definately between 300-500 mil. Either way, its a shtload of cash! and now hes in debt, bigtime!
How much you think Tito has made? 10-20 mil max, how long do you think it will be before he chews that up? He better fight while he still can, he doesnt have another 10 years in this sport. Its gonna have to last him and his family a looooong time.
Get ya mind right Tito!!! put those gloves on, get in the ring and bleed for Dana! dance monkey!!! dance!! lol, ok maybe i went a bit too far on this one, but you get the idea.
Some of you think Tito is making plenty, one mil, but compare that to top boxers. The UFC likes to brag how theyve passed boxing, yeah, but not in salaries. How much do you think Dana makes. sissy name by the way
Compared to boxing, which white likes to brag theyve passed, the ufc fighters prize money does suck typical corporate greed. How much do you make per event Dana?
Tito makes alot considering his ranking, not even top10 anymore. You cant compare it to boxing, mma is still a relatively new sport. Look at Baseball, those guys make way too much money, especially for a boring sport nobody cares about anymore.