take off
The Tito Ortiz and Dana White feud is a lengthy one, but their fight on a plane might be the most bizarre chapter.
UFC Hall of Famer Ortiz is in action this weekend against fellow legend Anderson Silva, but in a boxing match.
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However, even though he was one of the top stars who helped elevate UFC in the early days, he had a fractured relationship with White, the promotion's president.
It came to a head once when they were 30,000 feet in the air.
“We were on a private plane on our way to Japan, and it was my partners, the Fertitta brothers, myself, Tito Ortiz and our matchmaker at the time, Joe Silva,” White told American talk show host, Conan O’Brien.
“Tito and I were messing around, and he put me in what’s called a neck crank.
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“I was tapping, and he didn’t stop. You can seriously hurt somebody in a neck crank, especially as big and strong as Tito is.
“So I just started blasting him in the ribs – started punching him in the ribs – and when he let go, I just jumped up, and it was just a full blown fist fight in the plane.
“We were literally taking off, and the plane was (going back and forth), and the Fertitta brothers had to jump in and break up the fight.”
The only part of the story Ortiz corroborated was the fact that he had White begging him to stop the neck crank.
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“I was manhandling him. But it was fun," he said.
Ortiz and White have always had a difficult relationship. At one point, the pair agreed to an exhibition boxing match. Ultimately, the plan was cancelled when Ortiz failed to show up for the weigh-ins.
Following Ortiz’s final Bellator outing in 2017, he showed remorse for how his relationship with White had deteriorated over the years. After all, White was once his manager before he became the face of the UFC.
“I love the guy, man,” Ortiz told ESPN following the fight. “He was my first manager. I always just fought for what I wanted in my career. No hard feelings. I’ve grown up a lot over the last four years.”
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