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“I hope you guys can take my apology because I respect both you guys like no other in and out of the cage.”
UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz made the rounds earlier this week when he claimed he could beat Jon Jones and put up a much better fight against the reigning light heavyweight champion than Daniel Cormier ever could
“I think I would do a lot better against Jon Jones than Daniel Cormier, because Cormier is just a shorter guy (with) bigger legs, bigger torso,” Ortiz said.
Jones didn’t bother responding to ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ but Cormier, the reigning UFC heavyweight champ, made his feelings known on Twitter.
No! Lmao https://t.co/rdQVX0T8jM
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) July 17, 2019
Ortiz, now 44-years-old, later retracted his comments via Instagram and apologized to ‘Bones’ and ‘DC’ for being unnecessarily disrespectful towards both fighters’ accomplishments.
“This message goes out to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier,” Ortiz said in a video (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I did an interview earlier this week and the reporter asked, ‘How would I do against Jon Jones in my prime?’ And my response was in a negative and disrespectful manner to both fighters.
“Jon Jones, you’re one of the greatest light heavyweight champions to ever grace the Octagon. Daniel Cormier, you’re one of the greatest light heavyweights and the greatest heavyweight champion to ever grace the Octagon. I respect both of you guys tremendously and for the first time in my career, I was in the wrong in this interview. So I hope you guys can take my apology because I respect both you guys like no other in and out of the cage.”
Ortiz, who now competes under the Combate Americas banner, is expected to make his promotional debut against Alberto El Patron sometime later this year. No date or venue has been announced.