Dana White tells a FOX show he never bought the UFC because of Tito Ortiz, says Ortiz refused to fight Chuck Liddell, and describes how his relationship with Ortiz “destroyed” beyond repair—ending with the line, “When somebody shows you who they are, believe t
A month after Tito Ortiz joked about having no relationship with UFC boss Dana White, White sat down with Tomi Lahren and didn’t waste time correcting the record.
The exchange started when Lahren played a clip from Ortiz’s previous appearance on OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless.” In that May segment. Ortiz discussed his nonexistent relationship with White. mocking his intelligence whenever White’s name came up. Lahren then brought the argument back in June. saying she wanted White’s side of the beef between the two MMA icons.
White first addressed the idea that he purchased the company because of Ortiz. “First of all, we did not buy the company because of Tito Ortiz,” he said. White went further, framing Ortiz’s claim as a mental health concern. “That’s how mentally ill this guy is—number one,” he said. “Number two, yes, we loved Tito when we bought the company. We loved Tito. You know he was one of our guys at the time.”.
From there, White moved to how Ortiz’s behavior, not any business calculation, strained the relationship. He described managing Ortiz and fellow UFC great Chuck Liddell at the time the company was purchased. and said Ortiz’s refusal to fight Liddell sparked a feud. “It got to a point where Chuck Liddell had beaten everybody… and Tito absolutely refused to fight him,” White said. “He would not fight him because Tito knew Chuck was going to beat him. And ironically. the beef between me and Chuck and Tito at the time really helped build the UFC too. because it was. you know. the storyline that the fans loved.”.
White then turned to what he called the slow deterioration between him and Ortiz. The former UFC champion’s version of their relationship—and what he called their bond—didn’t match what White described. “Tito did some really dumb things, like he said, and he destroyed the relationship, right?” White said. “What if the UFC failed, and it didn’t work?. Would he want to let bygones be bygones?. And no. you try to do some dirty stuff at the time when you thought you had the power to do it. and you destroyed relationships. And anybody that knows anything about me, call me petty, call me whatever you want. We’re never gonna be friends again.”.
Lahren later pushed for the lesson White drew from it—whether going into business with friends is a bad idea. White’s answer was blunt. “It’s a really bad idea in my experience,” he said. “Being in business with your friends is definitely difficult, and it’s not a great idea.”
In between those remarks, White left the final message on how he interprets conflict and character: “When somebody shows you who they are, believe them.”
Dana White Tito Ortiz Tomi Lahren is Fearless UFC Chuck Liddell OutKick relationship feud MMA