Dana White Congratulates Tito Ortiz After Bellator 170 Win
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz caped off a legendary career last night (Saturday, January 21, 2017) at Bellator 170 with a first round submission win over Chael Sonnen.
Ortiz, who was previously employed by the UFC before his departure in 2012, signed with Bellator in 2014 after a brief flirt with retirement. ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ went three for four in his career under the Bellator banner, having only lost one contest to Liam McGeary in 2015 for the light heavyweight title.
The former UFC 205-pound champ has had well documented issues with UFC President Dana White in the past, but during a recent interview with ESPN (via MMA Mania), that all seems to be water under the bridge as White sent him a congratulatory text following his win over Sonnen yesterday to wrap up a great career:
“He actually sent my girlfriend a text message. She used to work for UFC and they always talk back and forth. When I first signed with Bellator, Dana sent me focus mitts with his face on it and said, ‘If this doesn’t motivate you, nothing will.’ So I guess it’s that love/hate relationship we have toward each other. But, thank you Dana for the text, saying that’s the way I should go out, on top.
“I mean, I love the guy, he was my first manager. I always just fought for what I wanted for my career. No hard feelings, I’ve grown up a lot over the last four years, and I’ve done a lot of things business-wise for my future. I’ve made mistakes before and I will never make those mistakes again.”
After a 20 year career competing in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) Ortiz leaves behind a great legacy of being a true pioneer to the sport, paving the way for so many who currently compete inside the Octagon today. After having retired once before, however, do you believe the former UFC champ is truly done competing?
