Tito Ortiz’s return to the UFC in 2009 it was clear that his once damaged relationship with the UFC had been somewhat repaired. If this was a product of a desire to fix things or a realization that the UFC was the only place he could get the money he wanted was always a little blurry.
Ortiz was on Jim Rome’s radio show today to talk about his bout at UFC 140 Saturday with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, but also gave interesting insight into his relationship with Dana White. Here’s the audio:
Transcript after the jump.
SBN coverage of UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida
Tito on his UFC relationship:
I’m very, very thankful for Dana and Lorenzo. I don’t want to sound like a broken record but they’ve given so much to my family and to me as a fighter. I’ve given so much to make this happen. I’ve been with the UFC since day one. I fought with the UFC as an amateur, back in 1997, May 30. UFC 13. And I’ve only competed in the UFC, I’ve never competed anywhere else my whole career. I made my brand by the UFC. Thanks to Lorenzo and Dana for making that happen for me. And it’s just one of those things, man. Me and Dana, we’re two alpha males in the same room and it’s hard to have that happen. We believe in what we believe in and we battle for that and we’re kind of bullheaded. Me and Dana were best friends at a time and I kind of broke their trust, I guess. And so I have to rebuild that relationship and I will. Time cures everything and I just have to show my respect and my loyalty to them as I always have. There was a couple times where I got a little out of hand by people who were around me that were kind of making me believe things I probably shouldn’t be believin’. I should have stuck to my own thoughts but it’s just one of those things. I was a kid who came from the streets and I never really had any family to trust. I grew up with no trust. There was no trust in my family, in my life. I thought that I could trust someone and it was never there. I made a mistake, I’m human and I made a mistake.
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