During a recent appearance on Adin Ross’s live broadcast, UFC CEO Dana White revisited some memorable, and often controversial, moments involving former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. The discussion touched on Ortiz’s time in public office and his high-profile relationship with adult film star Jenna Jameson.
The conversation unfolded casually after White and Ross played a round of UFC 5, with White controlling his own in-game character and Ross selecting Ortiz. After winning the bout, White used the moment as a springboard to share stories about his longtime former athlete.
At one point, the group watched a clip from Ortiz’s swearing-in ceremony as a Huntington Beach City Council member. The video captured a widely circulated moment in which Ortiz appeared to stumble while repeating the oath of office, saying “I do solidly” instead of the traditional phrase “I do solemnly.”
White reacted with disbelief as the clip played, immediately pointing out the mistake. “When it starts off, ‘I do solidly swear,’” he said.
From there, White shifted the conversation to Ortiz’s tenure in the UFC, particularly his performances during media events. According to White, press conferences involving Ortiz were often difficult to manage due to his tendency to speak at length without delivering clear answers.
“When Tito was in the UFC and we would be doing these press conferences,” White recalled, “somebody would ask him a question and he would ramble the dumbest thing for 10 minutes. I’d be waiting for it to end, ready to wrap it up. Then somebody else would ask another question, and he’d go on for another 10 minutes. Every press conference with him was a nightmare.”
The discussion then turned to Ortiz’s past relationship with Jenna Jameson, a pairing that attracted heavy media coverage during the late 2000s. White suggested that Ortiz held Jameson in extremely high regard and trusted her judgment in professional matters, including management decisions.
“When he was with Jenna Jameson, he literally thought she was the smartest person he had ever met,” White said. “She became his manager, and those two together, holy f**k, man, it was absolutely unfortunate.”
