http://mmajunkie.com/news/17835/dana-wh ... iddell.mmaDana White rebuffs Tito Ortiz's intervention claims about rival "TUF 11" coach Chuck LiddellLAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White says Tito Ortiz's allegations against Chuck Liddell are another case of Ortiz's well-known hyperbole.
In an interview with MMAjunkie.com (
http://www.mmajunkie.com) during a media day for the upcoming 11th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Ortiz said Liddell was an alcoholic that needed an intervention and rehab to return to the UFC fold.
White shot down those assertions during a small gathering of reporters following the UFC 109 pre-fight press conference.
"It's not true," White said. "I never stepped in and had an intervention with Chuck Liddell, and he never went to rehab or anything like that. Tito says some crazy stuff sometimes."
Ortiz paired his allegations with backhanded praise for Liddell's much-publicized effort to continue fighting after two consecutive knockout losses.
"Thank God that (UFC president) Dana (White) gave [Liddell] an intervention, and he's sober now," Ortiz said at the media day. "He's been sober since November, and he looks like a different person. It's awesome. I'm proud of him – really proud of him. A lot of people can't do that. I kind of went through that myself, but I looked in the mirror and I realized that wasn't the life I wanted to lead.
"I'm proud he's found sobriety. A lot of fighters and a lot of people in general don't do that. They fall off the face of the earth, and sometimes they'll find them in a hotel, dead, or behind a wheel, dead. Thank God Chuck isn't one of those guys. Thank God he found sobriety, and I'm proud of him – very proud of him."
White said he doesn't know if Liddell is an alcoholic but admitted the four-time UFC light heavyweight champion likes to party.
"I think Chuck Liddell is a rich guy with a lot of time on his hands," White said. "He likes to run around in bars. He's single. He likes to go out and meet girls and do what most guys do.
"He's a little old to be doing it, but that's what he likes to do. So (he's) no different than any other person that likes to go out on the weekends and parties. And (he's) no different than Tito when Tito's not fighting."
White, one of Liddell's first managers and a close friend, said the guidelines to Liddell's return did not hinge on sobriety.
"Me and Chuck have been battling over this fighting thing," White said. "That's it. All I've ever said to Chuck was, 'If you come back, you better take this seriously, and you better go after it.' Never did I say, 'You're going to stop drinking.'
"Everybody always talks to me like I'm like, 'You're never fighting again, and you're going to quit drinking, and you're going to clean your room and brush your teeth.' That's not the relationship I have. This guy's my friend. I care about him."
White said it was only his friendship with Liddell that prompted him to intervene when Liddell made a drunken, half-conscious appearance on a local Dallas talk show in March 2007.
"That was a whole other ball game," White said. "I wouldn't say that was intervention. I stepped in and said, 'What are you doing, and who let you go on TV that morning? They need to be hung from a streetlight and beat like a piñata for letting you go on that show.'"
White said Ortiz's allegations have heated "The Ultimate Fighter 11" set, though the tension has not yet built to the near-constant jibing between this past season's coaches, Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
Still, the UFC president made it clear that Liddell is really, really looking forward to the traditional post-show fight between coaches. White said the promotion is targeting UFC 115 on June 12 for the fight, but nothing is confirmed.
"The thing is, and it's never going to change no matter what happens – Chuck hates Tito," White said. "He hates him. Can't stand him."
So far, Liddell has been silent about Ortiz's allegations.
"The Ultimate Fighter 11" debuts March 31 on Spike TV and features a cast of 14 middleweights fighters.
For more on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," including coaching staffs and the show's format, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
Steven Marrocco is a staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com and an MMA contributor for The Vancouver Sun.
