Tito Ortiz: “It’s not about money anymore, it’s about respect”
May 1, 2008 by Adam Morgan
Tito Ortiz made himself available for a Q&A session with The Sun in the U.K. and confirmed his plans to leave the UFC after his fight with Lyoto Machida at UFC 84:
I’m getting ready for that fight right now, May 24th in Las Vegas , Nevada at the MGM Grand. This is the last fight in my contract with the UFC. Then I’m going to go and sign up with somebody else just because the way Dana White treats me as a fighter is very disrespectable.
It’s not about money anymore it’s about respect. I’m going to go with someone else who will pay me more money and treat me with more respect than Dana White has ever treated me. I’m very excited to move on, to grow and go somewhere else and help them build a company like I did with the UFC.
No real surprising news here, but Tito has been pretty quiet as of late about his intentions to leave the UFC after his next fight. I don’t see the UFC making a big push to keep him and he’s going to be the biggest free agent name on the market when the time comes. If EliteXC does well on CBS, don’t be surprised to see him land there. Kimbo vs. Tito anyone?
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I could definitely see kimbo stomping a mudd hole in tito’s @$$
Cant wait to see Ortiz destroy Machida and then to see where Ortiz goes next.And as for Kimbo (stomping a mudd hole in tito’s ass)I would highly doubt that would happen.Kimbo is a 1 dementional fighter and is extremely over rated.
Tito shouldn’t be ranked as high as he is either though. Tito’s obviously out of Kimbo’s league at the moment, but Tito hasn’t done very well as of late with his only KO’s being over old man Shamrock and every other fight going to decision all the way back to 2001.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tito take someone down and put on a show, I find his wrestling boring to watch. Hopefully Tito trains hard and tries more to put on an exciting fight rather than trying solely to win.
I have to admit though, I love rooting against him so I’ll be sure to see his future fights. Let’s see if a bigger cash incentive helps his fighting flair.
If Kimbo fights Tito I’ll acknowledge Kimbo as an MMA fighter. But since Kimbo dosn’t fight for real this fight isn’t happening anytime in the near future…true?…true.
Let’s be realistic, Gary Shaw will never make Kimbo fight any REAL competition…
and why do fighters (hell all athletes in the sports world) always say it’s not about money, its about respect, and the respect they want to be shown is more money???
Making it only about money, not about respect, it’s always and always has been about money. At least Tito didn’t look as bad as Couture did when he kept saying its not about money, its about respect, and the next thing he says is basically its about money…hahaha, dumbass…
Morgan why do you always slip in the “he might fight Kimbo” when talking about any free agent. What is it about Kimbo’s last three fights that gives you the impression that he is about to fight a good MMA fighter soon. If he fights a good fighter he’ll lose and thats why they wont let him. Could there be any other reason?.
Fight Fan-
Tito called out Kimbo not too long ago. Kimbo resides in EXC. EXC is where I think Tito will eventually end up. Does that make sense?
Also, I try to throw in a Kimbo reference whenever I can to create controversy because I know how much you people despise him.
haha….
“It’s not about money anymore it’s about respect. I’m going to go with someone else who will pay me more money “
Tito vs Kimbo is a smart fight if you ask me. Kimbo and Tito are two of the most popular fighters in the business. The fight would be a huge draw for any organization. Personally I don’t think the outcome would really matter. If Ortiz wins then he raises his popularity and then can move on to become a champ in EliteXC. If Kimbo losses at least he losses to a respected opponent early in his career. If Kimbo puts up a good fight then it shows he has the talent and skills needed for him to grow into a superstar. If Tito losses then that might hurt his image but at the same time it would do wonders for Kimbo’s credibility. Remember Tito is the guy who has headlined 3 of the biggest UFC’s ever. The guy is very well known and the casual fans love him. I think a Tito/Kimbo headliner could big one of the biggest shows in MMA history.
Tito would destroy Kimbo (take down and pound).
God, what the hell is it with all these Kimbo fanboys? Get off his nuts, he’s not a great MMA fighter, and until he shows any ability past throwing wild punches against walking tomato cans you need to shut the hell up. The guy is likeable, fine. The guy has a cool beard, fine. The guy may or may not have some power in his hands, fine. The guy is definitely not the best mma fighter on the planet, or even on par with the majority of professional heavy weight fighters in the major leagues.
Get. Off. His. Nuts.
Thanks.
I called Kimbo v. Tito a while ago… I think it’d be an entertaining fight and perhaps the credible opponent that Kimbo needs…
If it’s not about money then Tito is willing to fight for free, or for very little. UFC certainly pays him, and more than a little. But then he says he’s moving to an org. that willing to pay him more. WTF? Did he give the interview after a few hours in a pub?
“Also, I try to throw in a Kimbo reference whenever I can to create controversy because I know how much you people despise him.”
No its because you love him and you want others to also.
Besides I don’t hate Kimbo I hate people saying he’s legit, when he so obviously isn’t (I put him in there with the likes of Butterbean…seriously).
“Tito called out Kimbo not too long ago. Kimbo resides in EXC. EXC is where I think Tito will eventually end up. Does that make sense?”
No because you also said Chuck and Kimbo might fight. Honestly Addam why do you like an unproven Street fighter with no cred so much? dosn’t the Bo Cantrel fight make you sick (he took a dive for money). I don’t know man, but I think the whole thing is the begining of the end of MMA as a serious combat sport.
Unless Kimbo fights for real this stigma about him being fake will be there, so I hope he and Tito fight soon. But they wont because Tito is a grappler and Kimbo is a guy who put his street fights on the net. He isn’t a pro boxer or an accomplished matial artist he is a guy famous for knocking out bums on the street and he is yet to fight a REAL MMA fighter that isn’t paid to take a dive. To me those are the facts.
“It’s not about money, it’s about respect”
See, that’s just funny because back when he was going to box Dana, he backed down because he wasn’t getting paid to do it. Ironic.
This is just more marketing crap from Tito. *Yawn* trying to keep himself relevant without actually progressing as a fighter.
“Also, I try to throw in a Kimbo reference whenever I can to create controversy because I know how much you people despise him.”
I don’t despise him. I wish him nothing but success. I am just tired of hearing about him for now.
tito would kick the shit out of kimbo just like he will destroy machida
I hope tito loses to Machida.
Getting Tito Ortiz will be a feather in Shaw’s Hat, and I’d like that feather to be as tarnished as possible.
I think Tito’s still good, but I don’t think he can role with the UFC 205’s anymore, it’s better go be a big fish in a small pond.
I think it’s less people despising Kimbo and more people despise fanboys or fake MMA fans or people that like to get on dudes nuts…
#12, you usually have a difference opinion than me but nothing that ever pisses me off but this time I agree 100% with everything you just said there. Especially the part about “begining of the end of MMA as a serious combat sport.” Nice post….
Also glad someone else realises guys are being paid to take dives, its Gary Shaw’s style, basically fixing fights…
Damnit, we really need a quick edit, where you can edit your post before someone else posts after you, for spelling errors because I hate posting again after or reading over what I type before I post it….
Meant DIFFERENT not difference, obviously…
“Gary Shaw will never make Kimbo fight any REAL competition…”
At some point he will have to. I don’t see MMA fans sitting idly by as the sport is made a mockery of like Boxing, which Shaw is used to.
Typically, I “try” not to write anything unless I have something interesting to say or ask. Unlike moron COA’s like king wah wah, and Poopymonkey.
Yeah that was really interesting bubbafat. Nice cheap shot at peoples screen names. Grow up peter pan, count chocula!!
That sure was something interesting you just said… for a first grader.
the line is from wedding crashers
(my comment was in reference to bubbafat, not you Mah Mah.)
why is kimbo constantly being put into matches out of his weight class?
why would tito fight kimbo? why would liddell fight kimbo?
kimbo is a heavyweight, lets keep him there.
how about a kimbo vs brock lesnar?
How about the man who beat Sean Gannon - Brandon Lee Hinkle. Then we will see how far he has come!
Reading about Tito trying to use big words is amusing. Every interview I’ve ever read or heard from him is like a car crash in slow motion. Most MMA fans probably wouldn’t notice, but the guy just destroys the English langauge.
@ #26 Thomas:
Actually, both TIto and Chuck could fight at HW. I’ve never heard exact numbers on Tito but I know he cuts a lot to make 205 and Chuck I know cuts from 230+ to 205. Either of those guys could make HW simply by not cutting weight.
Kimbo, on the other hand, actually only weighed 238 (and that’s with no weight cut at all) in his last fight vs Tank. So Chuck is basically the same weight as Kimbo walking around, and I’d bet Tito is just a little lighter.
And both Tito and Chuck are 6′2″ just like Kimbo, so no height advantage for anyone either.
In other words, the fight could easily take place. Wouldn’t even need to be a catchweight. In an organization like EliteXC they’d put Tito against Kimbo in a second, and I think if Tito concentrated on his GnP he’d own Kimbo.
*Reaser* I agree with you 100% on the money thing. Don’t cry foul when your cashing checks bigger than alot of people make in a year, or two. It’s kind of hard to feel bad when the typical person is trying to scrape by with gas in their car for the week to go to work. Granted the top tier fighters should be paid well, and I think the performance bonuses help create a greater showing, but don’t cry respect when it’s not really about that. What happened for respect of the sport?
#30 this sound a lot like the lindland interview you hated on so much another fighter crying me me me and hating dana, there is a growing trend, and by the way, why dont you explain to me his job title anywey, is he the commissioner ,the king, or what, cause you would think that someone in his position should not bicker with the work,stop acting like a snotnose kid and show a little class.
Tito Via RNC RD1 3:29
#31 A little class would be nice! It’s just getting old listening to the crying about me, me, me. If there’s problems with the way the sport pays, or how things are done, then make a change! Don’t just bitch, do something about it. As far as commisioner, or king…. you can put whatever fantasy name you want to him. I’m gonna go wipe my nose now.
Zane, I hope you don’t think Tito will RNC Machida that fast… if you’re talking about Tito against Kimbo yeah sure. Machida isn’t going to get submitted like that, especially not in the first, if at all.
Hope Machida beats Ortiz because I’m tired of his whining. Complains about respect. How’s Dana White supposed to respect Ortiz after he walked out on the boxing match Ortiz specifically asked for? That White had to bend over backwards to have the NSAC approve?
Respect works both ways. Ortiz would do well to learn that.
According to another report here on 5oz., unless Elite XC pulls a huge number on their debut CBS show on the 31st, they could be going under. IFL is allegedly on their last leg as well. Then what is Tito going to do? Make movies for his girlfriend Skeletor? And for the record, Machida will destroy Tito..and I believe Kimbo would as well. Kimbo may be a free agent soon if Elite XC goes under. The only viable option would be the UFC…where he would fight real competition.
CTown, it wasn’t a report, it was an opinion that was expressed. HUGE difference.
its too bad kimbo is not in the ufc because we would get to see ifdana likes him or not. he would either make him fight top ten opponents or he would give him cans to build him up ala brock lesbian, wait he wouldnt do that to them , he only did that to the pride fighters because he wanted them to look bad.
Let Diego Sanchez fight Kimo. I would love to see kimo kick Diego’s ass. The only ass Diego see’s anymore is Ali Sonoma’s.