"It's business," Ortiz said. "And at the same time, you know, it seems like Dana is really out for himself and the company. He don't give a s--- about the fighters."
Ortiz said he will fight the undefeated Lyoto Machida on May 24, and that will satisfy his contract and possibly be his last UFC fight. And he had more to say:
"They don't want the fighters to get as big as a 'Tyson' or a 'De La Hoya' or one of those types because all of a sudden, they'll be expecting to see a lot more payment," said Ortiz. "The UFC makes about 99 percent of the money, and the rest goes to the fighters. That one percent ain't nothing compared to what they make on merchandising, on pay-per-view, and everything else they make around the world."
Ortiz is probably right that White doesn't want any one individual fighter to become as powerful within the sport as Mike Tyson used to be and Oscar De La Hoya still is in boxing. But at the same time, for all their complaints about White, it's telling that there still hasn't been a mixed martial arts fighter who has shown an ability to make substantially more money outside UFC than he made in it.


Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-24-2008 @ 7:20PM
bigflyer said...
Say what you will about Dana White and he is rough around the edges with his "F-bommbs" every other word; but he has taken a traveling circus that was banned in some states and made it into a fast growing legitmate sport....sort of what the 90's did in NASCAR.
No boxing promoter is lily pure; why should anything beter be expected in the UFC? Still White has done wonders and many young fighters hope to be a part of the sport some day.
Reply
1-25-2008 @ 7:50AM
victorpoprock said...
@Michael David Smith- You are a little off base in saying that no fighter has made more money outside the UFC than in it. Big name fighters like Randy and Tito make way more money in endorsements and other things outside the octagon than they make with the UFC.
Reply
1-25-2008 @ 2:11PM
Bryan said...
I remember when Tito's ex-wife called up Dana a begged him to let him fight. Oh how times have changed.
Reply