Many might’ve forgotten, but back in 2007, Tito Ortiz and Dana White were on the verge of settling their differences in a boxing ring. That’s right, the former UFC light heavyweight champ nearly threw hands with his boss. But Ortiz pulled out, claiming there was nothing to gain from the fight. Now, years later, he’s extending an olive branch, looking to bury the hatchet and squash the long-standing beef with Dana White.

Speaking to The Schmo, Tito Ortiz removed the veil as he expressed his wish for him and Dana White to reconnect and finally put all their past beef behind them. “Hope one time Dana and me shake hands, smash everything that was behind us. That was before — that was a different Tito Ortiz. I was learning; I was a young kid learning things. And age-wise, you know, I was a little older, but I was still a young kid in the game, didn’t know many things. I trusted some people — it was my fault, it was my bad. It’s behind me, as I say,” said Ortiz.

For those who may not know, Dana White and Tito Ortiz shared a strong relationship back in the 2000s. Before acquiring the UFC, White even managed Ortiz’s career. The two were close friends. On one occasion, well-documented on X, when someone dared Ortiz to kiss White on the lips, he actually did, and White didn’t even react negatively. Their relationship was based on mutual respect and gain, but everything changed due to continuous disagreements over finances and fighter pay.

Ortiz pushed for better pay, considering he was one of the earliest superstars of the promotion, but White stated that the amount he was asking for was just ridiculous. Their relationship became much more sour as White once claimed that Ortiz and Randy Couture were trying to sabotage the organization. White even went as far as to claim, “Tito is a f‑‑‑ing idiot. He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever met. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense.”

After years of back-and-forth, Ortiz appears to have finally come to his senses, expressing a desire to mend his relationship with the UFC CEO. However, knowing Dana White, he might not be interested in having any dealings with the former light-heavyweight champion. Interestingly, last month, Ortiz, in his statement, refuted himself while speaking about Dana White. Let’s have a look at what he said.

Tito Ortiz’s verbal mishaps as he tried to attack Dana White

Well, the fight between Tito Ortiz and Dana White never happened, but the scars of their rivalry remain with the former champion. It appears that, despite trying to mend relations with the UFC CEO, he won’t be able to let go of some of them. While having a conversation on the Overdogs Podcast, Ortiz revealed that he has always been fighting for his kids and money, and he has never fought for free in his entire life.

“At the end of the day, I’m trying to feed my kids, man, and I’m not doing anything for free. And so that fight against Dana (White), I wasn’t gonna do it for free. People say Well, you should do free. It’s like, no, I have never fought one fight in my life for free unless it was in the schoolyard or in a park,” said Ortiz.

Seems fair enough, right? Well, in the same conversation, he refuted his statement as he claimed he fought for free when he was in the UFC. “You know, you’ve got to get some type of revenue if they’re gonna build revenue. And that’s what UFC did. Different times back then. Yeah, when UFC started, you guys were making like 200 bucks. I fought for free in UFC 13. I was the only UFC fighter in my UFC career to ever fight for free,” said Ortiz.

His statements caught the attention of fans, who called him out for the confusing statements. Despite their back-and-forth, Ortiz seems willing to bury the hatchet with the UFC CEO — but will Dana White bend? Will he agree to let go of decades of rivalry? Only time will tell.