According to Loretta Hunt over at thefightnetwork.com another popular UFC fighter is speaking out against the promotion. Tito Ortiz also confirmed a May fight with UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida. This news comes from an interview Ortiz did with Sirius Fight Network radio on Monday. Here is the meat of the article.
“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 not the only marquee fighter to take Zuffa to task. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture resigned from the organization on Oct. 11, citing compensation and poor treatment within the company as his main motivations. Couture walked away from his title, two contracted fights and a separate employment contract for commentating and promotional duties. Zuffa filed suit with Couture last Monday for breach of his employment contract.
A polarizing former UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz confirmed he will face Lyoto Machida (12-0) at a UFC event on Saturday, May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will satisfy the final fight of his UFC contract.
Expecting a rematch with “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner Rashad Evans, Ortiz (15-5-1) said he begrudgingly accepted the bout with the Japanese-Brazilian fighter who toppled PRIDE sensation Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with a second-round submission at UFC 79 “Nemesis” on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.
“I was expecting a bigger fight. I think the fans were expecting a bigger fight,” said Ortiz. “I got pressed into it, and all of a sudden, it’s all over the Internet that Tito Ortiz won’t fight Machida. I’m just looking to get my final fight over with the UFC.”
Read the Full Article HERE.
8 comments:
As much as I like Machida, I would like Tito to leave with a win and a middle finger to Dana White.
"Energetic and captivating, Ortiz became the UFC’s light heavyweight champion after his victory against future PRIDE Fighting Championships star Wanderlei Silva at UFC 25 in April 2004. A poster boy for the promotion, he lost the title to Chuck Liddell (21-5) via a second-round TKO at UFC 47 four years later."
This is what the article says if you click the link. I remember Tito losing his title to Randy Couture at UFC 44 though. Maybe my memory is shot at my age though.
yes.i agree.
I'm sick of the brass.
This is ridiculous.
Couture now Tito?...these guys also made the UFC not the other way round.
It's a two way street.
I think the UFC will not survive if it continues this way. Fedor is getting multiple million dollar purses for his fights in Europe but the UFC still offers low end cash in comparision. This is the way of the corporate world. Greed.
mi-san, i'm with you 100%
Fu#### dana white and the ufc capitalist organisation
"i would like tito to leave with a win" fuck that.. he doesnt deserve a win... yeah fuck dana white too taht cheap bastard... i am 100% sure that machida will kick the shit out of Tito... even though machida is a decision winner kind of fighter i still think that the fight will finish with a knock out or a submision making Tito a bigger loser than he already is... (most likely a submission, well i hope a submission)
fighters should get more money but they shouldn't be able t demand it, or demand who they want to fight. I think machida is a good pick,hes undefeated but has fought a good G&P guy like Tito yet.
I hope we, the fans, can still get the big fights like silva v henderson, liddel v wandy, without the hassle of promoters/agents wanting more and more money like boxing.
machida has beaten bonner, a good G&P guy.
Is there a fighter's union? There should be, because these guys are getting screwed.
They put their asses on the line for our entertainment, they should get very well compensated for it.
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