boxingcar
06-29-2007, 01:22 PM
UFC veteran Tito Ortiz is complaining that the organization isn’t promoting him properly, and as expected, UFC president Dana White didn’t take too kindly to the accusation.
The former UFC champ and the organization’s head honcho recently opened up to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.
As Ortiz prepares for next weekend’s UFC 73 main-card bout with rising light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans, he says the organization isn’t giving him the exposure he deserves. In fact, Ortiz says the slights are intentional and a way to drive down his price come contract-renegotiation time.
White says the accusations are laughable.
From Yahoo! Sports:
“There’s a billboard of his big ugly gorilla face at the busiest point in Las Vegas,” White said, “where it can scare kids who are riding by in their cars. Guess whose ugly head is on our billboard in Times Square?
“He’s a moron: A complete and total moron. His whole career, he’s stepped over a dollar to pick up a dime. I’m sick of him. It’s time he started beating up someone other than a nearly 50-year-old Ken Shamrock.“
White also said the UFC has an ad set to run in USA Today on July 6 which has a picture of the lightweight and middleweight title belts that are up for stake at UFC 73 on the top half of the ad and has Ortiz’ and Evans’ faces on the bottom of it.
“Does that sound to you like we’re ignoring him or not promoting him?” White said. “I’ll tell you what it is, it’s more proof, as if anybody needed any, that Tito is a moron.“
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces Nate Marquardt in next weekend’s main event, and lightweight champion Sean Sherk takes on Hermes Franca in a second title fight. However, as White mentioned, the Ortiz-Evans fight is getting a big part of the spotlight — especially for a non-title/non-main-event fight.
In fact, when you head to the official Web site for UFC 73 (73.ufc.com), it’s Ortiz and Evans — not next weekend’s title-fight competitors — who get top billing.
Despite the war of worlds, White did mention during yesterday’s UFC 73 media conference call that he expects Ortiz and the UFC to come to terms on a new contract. But Ortiz, who has two fights remaining on his current deal, hasn’t sounded as optimistic in recent interviews.
The former UFC champ and the organization’s head honcho recently opened up to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.
As Ortiz prepares for next weekend’s UFC 73 main-card bout with rising light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans, he says the organization isn’t giving him the exposure he deserves. In fact, Ortiz says the slights are intentional and a way to drive down his price come contract-renegotiation time.
White says the accusations are laughable.
From Yahoo! Sports:
“There’s a billboard of his big ugly gorilla face at the busiest point in Las Vegas,” White said, “where it can scare kids who are riding by in their cars. Guess whose ugly head is on our billboard in Times Square?
“He’s a moron: A complete and total moron. His whole career, he’s stepped over a dollar to pick up a dime. I’m sick of him. It’s time he started beating up someone other than a nearly 50-year-old Ken Shamrock.“
White also said the UFC has an ad set to run in USA Today on July 6 which has a picture of the lightweight and middleweight title belts that are up for stake at UFC 73 on the top half of the ad and has Ortiz’ and Evans’ faces on the bottom of it.
“Does that sound to you like we’re ignoring him or not promoting him?” White said. “I’ll tell you what it is, it’s more proof, as if anybody needed any, that Tito is a moron.“
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces Nate Marquardt in next weekend’s main event, and lightweight champion Sean Sherk takes on Hermes Franca in a second title fight. However, as White mentioned, the Ortiz-Evans fight is getting a big part of the spotlight — especially for a non-title/non-main-event fight.
In fact, when you head to the official Web site for UFC 73 (73.ufc.com), it’s Ortiz and Evans — not next weekend’s title-fight competitors — who get top billing.
Despite the war of worlds, White did mention during yesterday’s UFC 73 media conference call that he expects Ortiz and the UFC to come to terms on a new contract. But Ortiz, who has two fights remaining on his current deal, hasn’t sounded as optimistic in recent interviews.