For the few that missed it, Dana did a 90 minute expose for SpikeTV on the problems that he has had with Tito over the years, his training for a contractual fight with Tito, and said fight that never happened due to a Tito non-show. MMAWeekly had an interview with Tito Ortiz where he attempted some spin control. It requires a premium membership to hear last nights interview but Fight Report has a nice synopsis if you don’t have the time to go listen to it.
There were a couple key points that were disturbing about his statements.
#1. Tito doesn’t have a professional manager and is “consulting” his girlfriend about business affairs. Granted, it appropriate to discuss business with your significant other but as a prominent professional athlete you really need both a publicist and a professional manager to help guide you in the rocky shoals of public opinion, contractual legalese, and corporate B.S. Having those buffers makes your dealings more professional rather than personal and give you a convenient scapegoat when you need to correct communication mistakes that might have happened between parties.
#2. There are always two sides of the story. His side, the opponents side, and then what really happened. We cannot accept wholesale what Tito said because now we have diametrically opposing stories from both Dana and Tito. This goes back to a publicist. When personal attacks come, it is important that the rebuttal is non-personal in nature to diffuse the situation. A publicist is perfect for this and helps demonstrate that you are better than the attacking party by taking the high road.
#3. He should never have revealed what his ex-wife told him about what happened because that is making this whole ordeal personal again. If anything, he should have brought to our attention how wrong it was for Dana to bring up very personal details about one of his employee’s on national television without that employee’s consent.
This whole P.R. nightmare for the UFC has to stop. Both Dana and Tito need to grow up and realize that they are representing the fledgling sport of MMA. These pedantic antics that they have been pulling are detrimental to the young sport in the court of public opinion because they show how unprofessional two of the most prominent figures in Mixed Martial Arts can be.
Dana has time and again expressed how he wants MMA to be regarded as a sports institution yet constantly resorts to “Drama-Queen” pro wrestling tactics in his professional dealing with his employees. Do you see Bud Selig or Roger Goodell creating a 90 minute expose about their stormy relationship with certain employees? Tito is just as culpable by acting and reacting in a very personal manner to aforementioned tactics.
So in essence, both need to act professional again and remember what is right and not who is right for the good of the sport.