Cris Cyborg’s camp denies taking ‘career advice’ from Tito Ortiz, who claims she wanted time off to ‘enjoy Christmas’

It’s been well-documented that Cris Cyborg turned down several offers from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to compete in the promotion’s first-ever women’s Featherweight title fight. It’s an opportunity for which she lobbied several years and even destroyed her body in 2016 to try and make happen.

But, when the call finally came, company president Dana White revealed that the Brazilian wrecking machine had one excuse after another to not fight (see them here). To make matters worse, United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) revealed shortly thereafter that she had been flagged for a potential doping violation. Cyborg, though, denied any wrong doing, blaming a doctor-prescribed diuretic for the failed test; meanwhile, White remained skeptical.

Nevertheless, according to Tito Ortiz, who once served as part of her management team, he advised “Cyborg” to accept the deal and fight for the belt … even though she claims she was still recovering from a near-death experience.

“I told her to take the fight,” Ortiz told MMAjunkie. “She said, ‘Tito, I’ve been working really, really hard for the last three years. I’ve been cutting a lot of weight. I want to enjoy Christmas time. I want to go on vacation,’ and I understood that. Personally, I understood that,” said Ortiz.

But, that conversation never took place, according to Ray Elbe, a rep for the current Invicta FC champion, stating that Cyborg, “has not sought career advice from him in some time as he no longer plays a part in her management.” Indeed, while Ortiz was once an integral part of Cyborg’s management team, the two went their separate ways in 2014, long before the devastating striker got her first fight inside the Octagon, which came at UFC 198 in 2016.

Here’s a good reason for the split:

As a result of Cyborg’s refusal to accept the bout, Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie were booked to compete for the first-ever UFC’s women’s Featherweight title at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 11, 2017.

The show must go on!

It’s been well-documented that Cris Cyborg turned down several offers from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to compete in the promotion’s first-ever women’s Featherweight title fight. It’s an opportunity for which she lobbied several years and even destroyed her body in 2016 to try and make happen.

But, when the call finally came, company president Dana White revealed that the Brazilian wrecking machine had one excuse after another to not fight (see them here). To make matters worse, United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) revealed shortly thereafter that she had been flagged for a potential doping violation. Cyborg, though, denied any wrong doing, blaming a doctor-prescribed diuretic for the failed test; meanwhile, White remained skeptical.

Nevertheless, according to Tito Ortiz, who once served as part of her management team, he advised “Cyborg” to accept the deal and fight for the belt … even though she claims she was still recovering from a near-death experience.

“I told her to take the fight,” Ortiz told MMAjunkie. “She said, ‘Tito, I’ve been working really, really hard for the last three years. I’ve been cutting a lot of weight. I want to enjoy Christmas time. I want to go on vacation,’ and I understood that. Personally, I understood that,” said Ortiz.

But, that conversation never took place, according to Ray Elbe, a rep for the current Invicta FC champion, stating that Cyborg, “has not sought career advice from him in some time as he no longer plays a part in her management.” Indeed, while Ortiz was once an integral part of Cyborg’s management team, the two went their separate ways in 2014, long before the devastating striker got her first fight inside the Octagon, which came at UFC 198 in 2016.

Here’s a good reason for the split:

As a result of Cyborg’s refusal to accept the bout, Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie were booked to compete for the first-ever UFC’s women’s Featherweight title at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 11, 2017.

The show must go on!