part 2
MMANews.com: So you are still having problems with Dana [White]?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, it’s just one of those things you know? Dana just wants to be a superstar. In his mind he thinks he is and it's really fun to see Dana's true colors. He kisses my ass in my face and then behind my back he just talks smack, saying how stupid I am and how dumb of a person I am. Cool, that's fine. It just shows how jealous he really is of me.
MMANews.com: What are your opinions on the problems they seem to be having setting up the Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva fight?
Tito Ortiz: I would imagine it all comes down to negotiations. Wanderlei's people are probably asking for a certain amount of money and Dana is not wanting to give it to him, so that is why the fight is not happening. Then Dana comes back and says that Wanderlei doesn't want the fight which makes me think that the UFC is trying to take advantage of Wanderlei. Dana's way of taking advantage of fighters is mostly not giving them what they want. Dana not giving Wanderlei what he wants is probably the reason behind it.
MMANews.com: Do you feel that fighters are under paid?
Tito Ortiz: Oh I definitely think fighters are under paid. The highest paid guys are only making a 1 million to 1.5 million dollars a fight and I think that is way underpaid.
MMANews.com: That is with PPV sales and such added in correct?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah. We only get a small piece of the PPV sales though. Nothing compared to what it could be. The fighters that are promoted well and that promote themselves well and that have big names are those that make the biggest market money. The guys making like $2000 a fight, thats ridiculous. I really feel bad for those guys. What it comes down to is that the UFC needs to start cutting the fighters into the pie instead of giving them the crumbs.
MMANews.com: With the UFC bringing in former Pride fighters such as [Mirko] CroCop and [Heath] Herring, etc. Do you feel that they should be getting the big pay days or should the guys that have been loyal to the UFC start getting bigger checks considering the Pride guys arn't overly well known in the U.S. market?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, I think the guys that should be getting the most money are the guys that everybody know. Wanderlei and CroCop are well known in Japan but are not really well known in America and maybe they should have to show off their abilities before they really start getting the big money.
MMANews.com: With that being said do you think that may be the reason they are putting the Quinton Jackson and Dan Henderson fight at UFC 75 free on Spike TV?
Tito Ortiz: No, I think that is basically because they have to fulfil their contract with Spike. It's all about ratings with that. UFC brings Spike huge ratings so that's pretty much why. Sponsorship dollars also have a lot to do with it.
MMANews.com: So it is more of a buisness move...
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, it's more buisness than doing it for the fans or for the fighters. The UFC wants to solidify their company through Spike TV. The big thing right now is the sponsorship money. The big sponsors are starting to come out. You seen Burger King sponsor the UFC and that was huge for them to get that.
MMANews.com: How are things going with Punishment Athletics? The last time we talked you had a few different plans coming up, what's everything looking like now?
Tito Ortiz: Punishment is doing really, really well man. We're really starting to get into a lot more stores. A lot of MMA stores have opened up around Southern California and we're getting into those. Of course it's in all the No Fear stores in Arizona, California, and mostly around the Midwest a lot of our products are showing up in them. It's just been building man. It comes down to great designs and trying to build and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
MMANews.com: What fighters are you sponsoring? I would assume at least everyone at Team Punishment, but who else?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, everyone at Team Punishment and then we have Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle, Jake O'Brien. Of course there are two different entities there, Team Punishment the fighting team and then Punishment Athletics which is the clothing company. We just signed a big contract with Kendall Grove. I'm really, really happy to sponsor fighters and help put money in their pocket.
"UFC needs to start cutting the fighters into the pie instead of giving them the crumbs."
MMANews.com: Kendall's next fight is coming up in September correct?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, it's coming up around the start of September and he's going to be fighting Patick Cote.
MMANews.com: How do you see that fight going? You have some experience being in there with Cote.
Tito Ortiz: I really think that Kendall will submit him or knock him out. He's just been on a rampage lately and he's been doing really, really well. He's looked good in training and I think he'll be a champion in due time.
MMANews.com: Will you be training with Rampage for his fight with Dan Henderson?
Tito Ortiz: Ummm, I'm not 100 percent sure on that now. If he calls me then yeah I'll help him train, I don't mind doing that but he is the champion now so there is a chance of us fighting each other. If he does call me about training though I'd do it at the drop of a hat.
MMANews.com: How do you feel he matches up with Dan Henderson?
Tito Ortiz: I think it's a great match-up for Rampage but a great match-up for Henderson too because Rampage's weakness is his clinch and his clinch position and that's one of Dan Henderson's best positions. Rampage is a lot bigger guy than Henderson is and he punches a lot harder so I think it will be an exciting fight.
MMANews.com: Back to contract talk a little bit, are there any other promotions out there that have caught your eye?
Tito Ortiz: None that I have really considering signing with but I haven't been negotiating with any either. I thought the EliteXC show was done fairly well. If I'm going to fight for a company I want to make sure their production is A-plus. UFC shows are so nice and so colorful and look so perfect. They've mastered it. If I did go to another company I'd want it to be exactly the same. My instinct is to stay with the UFC, my loyalty lies with them.
MMANews.com: What was your opinion of the EXC/Strikeforce card with [Frank] Shamrock and [Phil] Baroni as the main event?
Tito Ortiz: Shamrock and Baroni saved the night. The production was horrible. I'm not trying to talk smack to anyone but the production was horrible. I seen a lot of camera angles they just didn't get. I've had shows myself and I know it can be hard to get that stuff but the production there just wasn't that great. The fights is what saved the show. It shows that Shamrock and Baroni were good draws. Baroni showed a lot of heart and Shamrock showed that he was still a force to be reckoned with.
MMANews.com: You mentioned earlier that you would rather work with Lorenzo Ferttita as opposed to Dana White getting your deal done. How do things differ with him compared to White?
Tito Ortiz: With Lorenzo man, he's just a straight up guy. He's not the type of person to blow steam up your butt and he talks straight forward. Dana will just talk circles around you. He'll promise you the world but he won't give it to you until you sign for it. It's kinda like the president man, the President of the United States, when it comes time to resign it all just ends up being broken promises. I look forward to dealing with Lorenzo on this. He's an awesome guy and he has always taken care of me so I look forward to negoitations with him.
MMANews.com: Now Dana White always talks about how MMA is going above and beyond boxing and MMA won't do what boxing did to ruin the sport. Do you think that if that is the case than the pay days will rival boxing pay days?
Tito Ortiz: That will happen when more fighters stand up for themselves. It may not happen anytime soon but as soon as some of the other big name fighters realize what I'm talking about and see the big picture then I think it will happen. Until then we'll just be waiting.
MMANews.com: I spoke with a few fighters before your fight with Rashad and one problem they seemed to think you had was that you were, ya know, a rich guy. With Punishment Athletics and your pay days does it ever go to your head and does the money cause you to lose your hunger any?
Tito Ortiz: No, not at all. When it's fight time man it's me fighting for my fans. That's the biggest thing for me. Making them proud to be Tito Ortiz fans. All the money I make isn't going to stop me from training and working hard six days a week, getting in the gym and sparring and wrestling and doing everything I normally do for a fight. People may say, "Tito doesn't have the same edge", but I've been fighting for ten years man.
MMANews.com: Now with your training, not to knock anyone at Team Punishment when I say this but you would probably have to be considered the best fighter there. Do you ever consider bringing in other fighters to advance and further your game?
Tito Ortiz: Yeah, we are going to start looking for new Team Punishment guys sometime this year. We'll have a solid team. I have some stuff in the works for the future.
MMANews.com: Do you consider training with other teams outside of your own?
Tito Ortiz: I'd like to do that but a lot of other teams are cut-throat man. They might talk some smack behind your back but bring you in as a sparring partner and that's it. I really rely a lot on loyalty and I don't want to do something and then turn around and get stabbed in the back so I try to walk lightly around that kind of stuff.
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