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Tito Ortiz Compares Himself to Francis Ngannou-Says UFC “Tried to Erase Me”

Published 01/25/2022, 5:17 AM EST

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Former UFC light heavyweight champion and Hall of Fame alumni Tito Ortiz has added to the strings of support ushering towards Francis Ngannou for his stand against fighter pay. The Cameroonian has been in dispute with the promotion ever since he became the heavyweight champion.

Even after his first title defense against interim champ Ciryl Gane, things haven’t improved between the two. While finding Ngannou in the same spot as he himself was in his UFC career, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ congratulated ‘The Predator’ and praised him for standing his ground.

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He tweeted, “.@francis_ngannou Congrats on the fight and standing your ground for the future of all #MMA fighters. I did it and they tried to erase me from the UFC’s history books. I hope they don’t the same to you. “

Tito Ortiz was one of the first names in the promotion. The UFC legend began his affiliation with the premier promotion in the early 2000s and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

In his illustrious career, as ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ was in Dana White‘s bad books, it forced him to leave the promotion twice (2005 and 2008).

Things once got so bad between the employee and employer that they even decided to fight it out inside a squared ring. Hilariously, the boxing bout didn’t come to fruition.

Francis Ngannou alleges the UFC threatened his agent for talking to Jake Paul’s partner

In a conversation with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Francis Ngannou made some serious allegations. He stated that the UFC is willing to take legal action against his agent for allegedly talking to Nakisa Bidarian.

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“I walked into the room waiting for my manager, my coach,” Ngannou said on ‘The MMA Hour’. “And they were like, ‘Wow.’ I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ They told me they just received an email from the UFC saying they’re going to sue [Martin] for talking with this guy, Nakisa. Yeah. I’m like, ‘Who is Nakisa?'” (h/t ESPN)

Nakisa Bidarian is a former UFC executive who now works with Jake Paul. He is the co-founder of Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

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What do you think about Ortiz’s statement? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Aashish Kumar

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Aashish Kumar is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism & Mass Communication, this Israel Adesanya fan has interned at reputed media houses and gained valuable reporting experience. Building on that experience, Aashish will look to tap into his love for combat sports and let fans benefit from his passion and journalistic expertise.
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