Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

For 11 years, he has been a drawing card, a lightning rod for controversy, a main eventer. He has been a champion, helped sell the most successful MMA pay-per-view of all-time and helped launch the sport’s current run into the mainstream.

But for Tito Ortiz, it ends like this:

“Tito is a f***ing idiot, one of the dumbest humans I’ve ever met. I put up with his s*** when he was a good fighter. He’s not anymore. I’m done.”

Those were the recent words of UFC President Dana White in the leadup to what is most certainly Ortiz’s final fight in the octagon against Lyoto Machida on Saturday. Ortiz told NBCSports.com as far back as February that there was a “zero percent” chance of him re-signing with the UFC. He later softened his stance, saying he would bypass White and negotiate directly with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. Now, it seems, there is no hope for continuing the long relationship. Instead, there’s finger-pointing and blame in what went wrong in the UFC’s second messy divorce of the last few months (Randy Couture is still embroiled in legal issues with the organization).  

Unlike Couture, Ortiz has the chance to write his own ending when he steps in the cage at UFC 84. Before he ever does that, the UFC, through White’s words, has clearly and unceremoniously dumped one of their first true superstars and a man that will be forever considered a pioneer of the sport.

In some ways, it is the perfect way for him to go out, the king of controversy going out in a hail of verbal gunfire with the man who signed his checks.

Ironically, Ortiz’s time in the UFC pre-dates even that of White. When he made his debut at UFC 13 as a tournament alternate against Wes Albritton, the UFC was still owned by SEG, the company’s original owners. Ortiz was a fresh-faced 22-year-old who was an assistant wrestling coach at Marina High School in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California. He trained with early legend Tank Abbott and showed signs of the confidence that would later become his hallmark.

He quickly built himself as an intriguing personality with a colorful presence, the willingness to make bold statements and an unwavering need to make his fights personal, adding to their marquee value. He dyed his hair blonde before fights and called himself the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” He wore T-shirts with derogatory comments about his opponents and ridiculed them in defeat.

What he lacked in sportsmanship, he made up for in attitude, and the UFC took full advantage in marketing him as a superstar.

In fact, when Zuffa, led by White and Fertitta, took over the UFC, they immediately earmarked Ortiz as one of their building blocks, and targeted an Ortiz-Ken Shamrock match as the biggest fight they could make based on pre-existing feud (Ortiz made an obscene gesture at Shamrock’s camp after defeating one of his fighters). Sure enough, the ensuing fight at UFC 40 was the biggest event the company had put on since being forced underground in 1997.

Years later, his UFC 66 fight with Chuck Liddell in December 2006 would become the first and only MMA event to draw over 1 million pay-per-view buys. Again, the hype was built on a rivalry, this time a fractured friendship between Liddell and Ortiz.

Yet now, less than two years later, Ortiz is finished in the eyes of White. In the UFC president’s opinion, Ortiz’s back injury has taken much of his explosiveness, he has a thirst for fame that supersedes his fighting ambitions, and has outrageous money demands that preclude a new contract.

In this brave, new MMA world, fighters’ fortunes can turn in an instant. One highlight reel knockout win or upset loss can vault you or bury you in the eyes of the fans.  White says Ortiz doesn’t have a “legitimate” win since beating Vitor Belfort in February 2005, glossing over the fact that during that time, he beat Forrest Griffin, the current No. 1 contender to Rampage Jackson’s belt.

True, Ortiz lost to Liddell and then fought to a draw with Rashad Evans, but Liddell is still considered a main-event caliber fighter and Evans is unbeaten, so what is the shame in either result?

In the end, these are simply two men that know how to push each other’s buttons, former friends turned bitter rivals, as well as two men not afraid to say something outrageous just to hype a fight. The fallout to their feud is likely a combination of all three. Why else would Ortiz say, “I’m not fighting Machida, I’m fighting Dana White”? And why else would White say that he doesn’t normally root for a fighter but, “I’ve never wanted to see someone get their ass kicked worse than I want to see Tito get his ass kicked”?

While Machida is coming in as the betting favorite in the fight, and most MMA observers expect the Brazilian to win, many of those same observers are probably secretly hoping Ortiz wins, just to see what happens. Will Ortiz get the usual in-ring postfight interview afforded to the victor? And if so, what will he say?

At this point, the two are like a bitter married couple that desperately need a divorce but need to take care of one last piece of business first.

Meanwhile, EliteXC President Gary Shaw has been an interested observer, flirting from afar, waiting for the object of his affections to be free. Shaw recently fantasized about a matchup between Ortiz and his posterboy Kimbo Slice, saying, “Of all my years in the fight game, I know one thing that I could see, touch, smell and feel, and that is a star and a superstar.  Every time I see Tito Ortiz, he reeks of stardom.”

At 33, he isn’t yet considered over the hill in MMA terms, and his defection will give an upstart company another name fighter to build on. But not just any name fighter, probably the most famous, and the one with the longest track record of drawing fans. If he walks out of the cage with a win tonight against the undefeated Machida -- a man considered a better fighter at this stage of his career -- it will only add to his leverage. But if he leaves with a loss, he’s just a fighter bringing a very marketable name.

The most important thing, it seems for both sides, is that he will indeed be leaving. And one day soon, after it is all over, hopefully Ortiz can find the respect he feels he deserves, and White can find the peace that he says Ortiz never allowed him. It’s no surprise that White and Ortiz are two of the most polarizing figures in the sport. The ironic part is this: regardless of their future, they will always be linked together for their bizarre feud, as well as being two of the key figures who helped MMA rise from its deathbed.

Ortiz is largely a creature of his own creation. He doesn’t care how the crowd reacts to him, as long as they react. He understands more so than almost any fighter that entertaining the fans is just as important as winning. He came in talking trash, and he’s going to leave the same way. This time, it’s not focused on his opponent; it’s focused on White.

Whether he wins or loses, he will no doubt walk away to a mixed reaction. Some will cheer him at the top of their lungs for what he’s brought to the sport; others will vehemently boo him, voicing good-bye and good riddance. But either way, they will all voice an opinion. Either way, they will all care.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

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