White Slams Tito Ortiz And Randy Couture For Trying To Destroy The UFC

Dana White has hit out at Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture for their past dealings with the UFC. 

The two former UFC champions have not had the best of relationships with White. Ortiz was very vocal about what he believed to be fighters not getting paid their worth.

And this issue continues to hold relevance to this day following a recent class-action lawsuit brought by former UFC fighters against the company.

Meanwhile, Couture left the UFC in 2007 after there were disputes over his contract. As a result, he vacated his heavyweight title.

And this was something that held true recently when the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou left the UFC to join the PFL. And those issues have continued to bug White to this day. 

White Loses His Cool

“Tito Ortiz… when him and Chuck [Liddell] fought. As the promoter, you’re not supposed to have a rooting interest. I couldn’t f****** wait to see Chuck whoop his ass. A hundred percent. Especially, at such a critical time in the sport’s development and the development of the UFC, there are probably two guys that absolutely tried to destroy the company at that time and it was Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. … Two of the worst guys to ever f****** deal with,” White

However, the UFC has moved on since then. The recent merger between the UFC and WWE to form TKO Holding Group Inc has gotten White feeling optimistic for the future.

The company has already produced impressive results, as their share price rose 2.6 on the first day of the New York Stock exchange. 

White On The Future

Nevertheless, there is far greater competition than before. The PFL’s Saudi investment of over $100 million from the Public Investment Fund, through its entity SRJ Sports Investments, has given the UFC a serious rival.

Meanwhile, there are also talks that the PFL could end up buying Bellator. But that increase in competition is not detracting White.

“I’m excited about the future and what we’re going to do. And I always am, regardless, but after this merger, we’re just so much more powerful than we were yesterday. Everything that goes on here I determine. Nothing has changed, just three letters instead of (nine). We’re just going to continue to kick ass like we do every single year,” White

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