Hell has not froze over yet, but it just might before we are done with this thing. In a strange turn of events, it seems UFC President Dana White and Tito Ortiz have kissed and made up.

Word of the reconciliation first surfaced from Tito during an interview with Tapout Radio on Thursday in which the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” stated, “I had a conversation with Dana last week…we kind of amended and squashed things, which is great. Dana showed the kind of person he is by apologizing to me and vice versa… We may not still like each other or whatever but we came to amends, which is awesome.”

White confirmed it just a couple of hours ago via Twitter, “Yes Tito and I made up.” White was quick to add that this in no way means he is back with the UFC, “Doesn’t mean he’s back it means we aren’t smashing each other anymore and we don’t hate each other.”

Tito himself posted on Twitter right about the same time as Dana did today. However, according to Tito, a UFC return seems imminent, “Yeah, me and @danawhiteufc made up. I’m expecting to be inside the Octagon again soon. thanks for the support guys – I appreciate it.”

The feud between Ortiz and White was legendary. Countless interviews and press conferences were held where both men would openly criticize and make known their hatred of each other, sometimes even at the same press conference. At one point in time the two were actually going to fight on Spike TV.

Ortiz has been inactive since his last bout in the UFC which was in May 2007 when he lost a unanimous decision to now light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Ortiz has always been a fan favorite and a huge PPV draw. At the end of the day Dana White is a businessman and as long as the two can work together, having Ortiz in the UFC is good business.

Rumors are floating around about a possible Tito Ortiz vs. Rich Franklin match up. That would be a great first fight back for Ortiz. There are plenty of intriguing fights for Tito at light heavyweight.

If you were the UFC matchmaker, who would you want to see Tito fight?

By:  Jack Bratcher

3 thoughts on “Dana White and Tito Ortiz make amends”
  1. People Tito Ortiz should fight:

    1) Rich Franklin – yeah, I heard the rumors, too, and I think the match-up makes tons of sense for both guys.

    2) Lyoto Machida – of course he’ll have to win a couple of big fights, and I think Rich Franklin would count towards that. The rematch between Lyoto and Tito would be epic, since Tito almost caught Lyoto in a triangle, and Tito claims that Lyoto “ran away from him for 3 rds.” I don’t think Lyoto will be so “elusive” next fight, in fact I’d predict an early finish for “The Dragon.”

    3) Quinton “Rampage” Jacskon – They’ve never fought before, it’d just make for an intriguing match-up, since these two personalities are two of the biggest in MMA.

    4) Thiago Silva – After his big loss to Lyoto, this might be a good fight for him.

    5) Chuck Liddell – YEAH I SAID IT. Who wouldn’t want to see this fight again, just for sh*ts and giggles?

    6) Randy Couture

  2. Tito and Franklin makes sense for the Main event of UFC 103. As good of a fighter as Franklin is he needs a big name fighter to really draw. Ortiz still has alot of drawing power and it should be a good fight. Also I think a rematch between Ortiz and Wanderlei would do big business. Ortiz really needs to win his next fight whether it’s in the UFC or not.

  3. You make some good points Tong and you too Dusty. I originally put in the article a rematch with Chuck would be cool. I still believe that, especially now since Chuch has lost a few. Wandy vs. Tito, Machida eventually, but most of all after Franklin, I would love to see him fight Rampage.

Leave a Reply