There was a time when Dana White, the UFC president, would have relished telling Tito Ortiz that he was done.
When their feud was at full blast, White would have loved nothing more than to tell Ortiz that he was not only washed up, but also prevent him from fighting as well. Now things have changed and both he and Ortiz are on good terms.
Which is why it is ironic that now that both men have stopped detesting each other that Dana White needs to tell Ortiz that it’s time to retire.
Ortiz for all accounts did well against Nogueira when they fought in the cage. He was beaten in the first round, and it was by knockout, but he seemed to be able to hold his own for the first part of the round.
The problem is that it was against the younger Nogueira brother who is coming off two losses and has struggled in the UFC.
Ortiz was facing a faded fighter like himself and still got beaten in the first round. Who knows what would have happened to him if he had been facing a younger fighter who was in his prime?
An argument could be made that Ortiz still has something, as he was able to beat former Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader, but Bader was caught by Ortiz in the first minutes of their fight and then submitted. It’s starting to look like that was a fluke more than a resurgence of the once-great fighter.
And now Ortiz is sitting on a 1-4 record in his current UFC run and White is given the unenviable task of telling him that it is over.
There won’t be any more walkouts. There won’t be any more chances to prove himself. There won’t any more fights coming his way.
Tito Ortiz the fighter will vanish.
Some fans might rejoice, as they hated him, while others will sadly see their favorite MMA fighter walk off into the sunset.
But for all the money that Ortiz has made the UFC and for all the fans he has drawn, White owes him a talk and to tell a once-great fighter that his time is up, because if he doesn’t, Ortiz is going to keep competing.
That is because for all of the annoying quirks that Ortiz presents to some fans and fellow competitors, he is a fighter through and through and will keep stepping into the cage because he believes he can make a comeback and get one more run with the title.
It is a sad story that has unfortunately been seen too many times in boxing and has started happening in MMA. If Ortiz isn’t stopped, he will be the latest.
He did the best he could last night and he came up short. It happens, and in combat sports, it eventually happens to everyone. It doesn’t mean his life is over, just his chosen career.
Now it’s just up to his employer to tell him. Considering he started his early career with Dana White and the UFC, it seems only fitting that it is how his career ends.
It’s just up to White to let him know that.
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