Tito Ortiz: Dana is my bo$$
UFC legend and MMA pioneer Tito Ortiz (15-6-1 MMA, 14-6-1 UFC) has been known for many things throughout his illustrious 12-plus-year career.
Among the many activities that have earned him both respect and hatred in the MMA community is Ortiz's tendency to sport T-shirts with messages emblazoned upon them.
Some have been motivational; some have been derogatory. At Friday's pre-UFC 103 UFC Fight Club Q&A session, it was a fan who provided Ortiz with his latest T-shirt slogan.
"Dana is my bo$$."
The shirt was a call-back to more stressful times for Ortiz when it seemed the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" and UFC president Dana White were on much less civil terms than now. At that time Ortiz wore a shirt that called White a different b-word.
Ortiz accepted the shirt from the Fight Club member, wore it immediately, and said those times are officially over.
"I'm really happy, and I know that a lot of fans are happy, that me and Dana White's thing is behind us now," Ortiz said. "Dana has been a man of his word, and me and him, we talk all the time. It's awesome to have someone behind me where I started to career."
Ortiz also said that despite near-continuous rumors over the past year-plus that tied him with Affliction, EliteXC, Strikeforce, and just about any other promotion that was looking to make a splash, he was never planning on fighting anywhere but the UFC.
"To let all you guys know, I wasn't going anywhere," Ortiz said. "I wasn't going to Strikeforce; I wasn't going anywhere. This is all negotiating tactics.
"I'm smart. I don't have managers telling me what to do. I do my own decisions, but it's all tactics."
With the "free agent" chapter of Ortiz's career behind him, the 34-year-old and his surgically repaired back can now focus on fighting inside of the cage rather than in an administrative office. First on the list: Mark Coleman at "UFC 106: Lesnar vs. Carwin" on Nov. 21.
"It's kind of weird, I sit there and I look at the matchup – him being a college wrestler, an Olympic wrestler, somebody that I've looked up to in my career," Ortiz said. "He started about a year-and-a-half before I started my career, and I see him as a ground and pound specialist. My own forte is to kind of take guys down and ground and pound them. Give the fans what they want to see. That's what I do.
"I think it's just a full circle that comes around. Everything happens for a reason in this world. ... Hopefully [Coleman] comes in shape. If he comes out of shape, you guys are going to see a short night. I'm ready. I'm ready now, and I've still got another eight weeks to go."
Despite debuting way back at UFC 13, Ortiz said he believes he still has a long future in the sport.
"I'm still in the running at 34 years old," Ortiz said. "You look at (Randy) Couture at 46, (Chuck) Liddell being 40. I'm still only 34. I've got a lot of stuff to learn, a lot of stuff to do, and a lot of stuff to conquer. I want to be champion again."
Ortiz said another shot at the light heavyweight belt that he once defended in five-consecutive bouts is his main focus at this time. But rematches with Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans are also on his current "To Do" list.
And now that he's back in the UFC, all things are possible.
"I love Dana like a brother, and brothers fight," Ortiz said. "At the end of the day, I look at it now, and we're going to give fans the best fights possible."
