With the demise of EliteXC, it seems that Tito Ortiz is once again a fighter without a promotion to call home.
Dana White has made it very publicly known that he thinks Ortiz is finished and that he doesn't want him. The "ground breaking" contract he was supposed to ink months ago with Affliciton never materialized and no one over there seemed too broken up about it.
So where will Tito Ortiz end up? It all depends on what his demands are.
For the UFC to resign him, Ortiz would likely have to take a pay-cut on the pay-per-view bonus end of his contract, which accounted for the majority of his earnings in 2006 and 2007.
The $210,000 base salary he earns is paltry in comparison to the bonuses which ramp up along with the PPV buy numbers.
For buys between 100-175K, Tito made one dollar per buy; between 175-300K, her earned $1.5 per, 300-330K, $2 per, and 330K+, $3 per.
UFC 84 did 475,000 PPV buys which translates to Ortiz making just over $1M for the event. That's a lot of money to spend on a fighter that lost, and that you consider to be in the twilight of his career.
Affliction on the other hand, was paying it's bigger stars in the same ballpark as Ortiz's UFC 84 earnings.
The problem, they quickly realized, is that it takes a lot of PPV buys to cover those salaries. Unless they end up like EliteXC—out of money because of overspending. Affliction announced that fighter salaries would be "adjusted," which is a nice way of saying slashed.
As for Strikeforce, the American Fight League, and other regional promotions that could parlay a Tito Ortiz signing into mainstream recognition, I think his price in just too high to justify.
These organizations have seen the flaws of putting all your eggs in one basket with the dismantling of Kimbo Slice at the hands of relatively unknown Seth Petruzelli.
The wildcard in the Tito Ortiz destination discussion is that Ortiz said he wants to be "more than just a fighter" for the next promotion company he works for. I take it to mean he wants to be a paid ambassador for the sport and the company, a front office type that is tasked with expanding marketing and advertising partnerships, global growth, and mainstream acceptance.
Sounds like a great job,but I'm skeptical of Ortiz in that role, and apparently so is the UFC and Affliction.
comments (17) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
Very good article Sir. Your writing style is very concise, while packing in good information.
Dana always seems to make the best business decision. While his grudge toward someone always seems so authentic, I now put it under the lens of "is he posturing for business purposes." It is interesting to see how he is spinning the whole "Kimbo" situation. Does he want Kimbo in the UFC or not?!
So, I am sure Dana would have Tito back, if it made good business sense, and Dana came out on top from a PR perspective. Since Tito is a true light heavyweight it would be interesting to see how he could fit into the crowded division. Who would he fight first I wonder...
Also, Tito's injury will play a big factor in all of this right? Do you know how long he is out for? Now that you have written a good article I am curious to know your thoughts...
from 2 months ago
Thanks for the read and the kind words.
I'm on the fence regarding Tito's future. Imo, he'll either retire or end up at Affliction. All depending on how successful his back surgery is and how quickly he can come back from it. There hasn't been a timeline set for his return but based on the injury I believe he'll be limited to light activity for at least three months and then medium level activity for another three... thats 6 months of doing nothing beyond stretching and picking up gallons of milk out of the fridge. After that he'll likely require another 3-6 months to get back in fighting shape, especially if he plans on coming back as a better than ever Tito Ortiz (which he needs to do).
He won't land back at the UFC unless Affliction goes belly up between now and his return. Beyond the pay scale divide Ortiz is pissed about the UFC not covering his surgery costs. Technically the beef is between the insurance provider and Ortiz and not the UFC but who knows. Factor in that the UFC has other younger, better, proven fighters moving up the ranks that will soon rightly demand a PPV buy bonuses which will make it harder to justify giving Tito one as well. There's simply no way the UFC starts making less money on these events because they're handing out so much cash in PPV bonuses. Ain't happenin.
Affliction could certainly use him in their LHW division but it seems like their contract discussions ceased when Ortiz started talking about being "more than a fighter" with the company. As a business manager I can understand why they're hesitant to let a fighter into the boardroom. It basically gives him an inside track about exactly how much money is being made and could very easily blow up in Affliction's face. The saying, "letting a fox into the hen house comes to mind." Ortiz is very much a fighter's first guy, which is good, but he would be better served by just getting a contract to fight for Affliction first and parlay that into something more by being a good company guy.
2 months ago
Hey Nate, my hatred for Tito has greatly decreased mainly do to the fact that I haven't had to hear him run his mouth. I even went so far as to defend him, when people started attack his family and baby. It was just going to far. As for the boat he is in now, he built it himself. Plain and simple he's out. It's been to long sense he last fought. I doubt he has been keep his body in ready condition, and he had wasted to many peoples valuable time.
I own my own business with my brother and we have a team that we send to compositions. I have had guys that are much better them some of my skater, but I will never let them on the team. They just waste our time thing they are out side the rule because they are better them some of the people around them. They are the best and even could have gone pro at some point, but they where to trouble, now no one will touch them.
from 2 months ago
I agree with you about Tito. I'm no Tito superfan but I do agree he did a lot for the UFC... but he seems to forget that the UFC also provided him with multiple $1M+ pay days for his work.
I think Tito did far too much posturing regarding his contract and it bit him in the ass. Affliction could use a prominent fighter to play the "bad guy" role and bring up the quality of their LHW division and a healthy motivated Ortiz would be the best fit.
from 2 months ago
Who would Tito fight in Affliction:
Sobral
Linland (at catchweight might be fun)
Belfort (if he moves back up to 205 for a rematch of their UFC fight)
Mousasi (he has expressed interest in moving up a division)
By the way, are Belfort and Mousasi still scheduled to fight at Day of Reckoning?
Did I miss anyone noteworthy? Besides Sobral, the only other true light heavyweight, which would be a marketable fight, would be against Lil Nog.
Affliction could also try and get Ricardo Arona to come back to MMA but he looks like he is having too much fun surfing. Can you blame him?
2 months ago
I really hope that somebody picks up Tito. He was one of my favorite fighters back in the day and I think that he has a few more years ahead of him. I hope that he can iron out things with Dana White and get him back into the octagon.
2 months ago
Nice blog, I totally forgot about him when i did my Elite XC bankruptcy blog, he likely will go to Affliction, which I am still predicting will be the next MMA company on CBS/Showtime
2 months ago
I, too, hope somebody picks up Tito...for a lifelong tour of Siberia.
I'm not bothered that people make fun of Tito's family. His utter lack of class over the years made the pendulum swing against Tito. After the Jerry Bohlander fight, did you read what was written on Tito's t-shirt?
Fortunately, the laws of life quickly descended upon Tito when Frank Shamrock beat him senseless. Of course, that didn't upgrade Tito's manners. His mouth...and t-shirt escapades continued.
So, Randy had to literally spank him, and Chuck had to slap the buffoon around several times.
Now the career threatening injuries? In the long run, expensive and painful lessons escapes no one--until they change.
2 months ago
I like Tito for the excitement and controvery he stirs up. He is dynamic as a fighter and a personality, but , to me at least, not in a phoney WWE type way. I imagine Dana White benefitted from being his manager, and I know the UFC owes him a debt of gratitude for being a draw before Liddell took over center stage. Not paying for his back injury is pretty shabby treatment. Dana was so fortunate that Tito did not show up for their "fight." Not many people can punch out their boss and still have a job afterwards, so I think he did Dana a favor in not showing up. If one of them is too impressed with themself, I believe it is Dana. He has done a lot for MMA, but he didn't do it inside the ring like Tito did laying his health and life on the line. Perhaps it is jealousy that motivates Dana now because Tito proved he was a man by stepping into the octagon, something Dana will never do, I don't know why he should feel threatened by Tito otherwise.
2 months ago
Tito is better off in the WWE. I loved the guy, I really did. Then over the years I kept him around like I kept once hip jewlery, it was cool for a moment, but now it just looks stupid. After the last Shamrock beatdown, FINALLY he started to grow up. Too little too late for Dana obviously. He should go fight one or two more fights, in Affliction, against Babalu and then Frank Shamrock, retire, and spend 3-5 years in the WWE or TNA being the star of the show, the super heel if you will... I would enjoy him much more...
2 months ago
I think if he is to continue, he should do so in Affliction. If he comes back 100%, he should be able to get by all the light heavies there. Babalu, Arona, Frank Shamrock, Belfort, that's an easy 4 wins for a healthy Tito. Babalu would give him the sternest test, Arona would get pounded, Shamrock would be beaten mercilessly and Belfort is completely washed up. Tito would look like a killer. I would love to see him beat those guys, grab a title, and retire to make B movies and do professional wrestling.
from 2 months ago
Where is the Tito in the WWE coming from? I haven't seen anything that indicated he was interested in entertainment wrestling.
As for B movies, I can see Tito as the next Vinnie Jones.
from 2 months ago
he had a short stint in TNA wrestling during his last contract dispute with the UFC. That is where its coming from.
from 2 months ago
Gotcha. Thought you meant there was new news about him headed to wrasslin!
2 months ago
I hear tito's having back surgery, he should give that about a year to heal and not sign with anyone. It seems that there is a new mma promotion starting up every couple months. A Tito Ortiz comeback fight would be great for a new upstart company, and he could probably do all of those front office things at his new company. After all, who knows the fight game better than one of the oldest vets in the UFC.
2 months ago
That picture makes Tito look like a Mexican John Gotti.
2 months ago
That picture makes Tito look like a Mexican John Gotti.
write a new comment