What Tito Ortiz Really Thinks About Trump, Dana White, and UFC’s Rise
6/2/202641 min
In this episode, Greta sits down with Tito Ortiz for a wide-ranging conversation that starts with the upcoming UFC event at the White House and turns into a primer on the sport itself. Tito explains the difference between UFC as a promotion and mixed martial arts as the sport, argues that wrestling is the foundational skill for success, and walks through the mechanics of the cage, rounds, scoring, safety rules, and how MMA differs from boxing. He also makes the case that the sport is far more technical and strategic than outsiders assume, comparing it to a layered chess match rather than a simple brawl. The conversation also becomes personal. Tito reflects on his own career, his title wins, his injuries and surgeries, his training discipline, and the way he thinks about recovery and longevity. He talks about meeting Donald Trump, supporting him politically, and why he sees the White House UFC event as a historic sign of how mainstream the sport has become. Greta frames the interview as a conversion of sorts: she begins as a skeptic about UFC, but Tito’s mix of detail, candor, and enthusiasm turns the episode into both a profile of a fighter and a persuasive defense of the sport’s complexity and cultural stature. Got a comment or question? Send it to EmailGreta@newsmax.com and it may be used or answered on an upcoming episode. You can watch the video version of the “Greta Wire” podcast on NEWSMAX social media channels, plus YouTube and Rumble, on the same afternoon the audio version launches. Listen to Newsmax LIVE and subscribe to our entire podcast lineup at http://Newsmax.com/Listen Don’t miss Greta every weekday on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” at 4 PM ET, only on NEWSMAX TV. Watch the show anytime, anywhere with NEWSMAX+. Get your 15-day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Follow Greta on Social Media: Facebook: / greta X/Twitter: https://x.com/greta Instagram: / greta TikTok: / greta.com Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG YouTube: / newsmaxtv Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/newsmax Threads: http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX Telegram: http://t.me/newsmax BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com Parler: http://app.parler.com/newsmax THANKS FOR LISTENING! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGreta Van Susteren· Host0:00
Huge event, June 14th at the White House. [laughs] You're not gonna believe what's going on. In fact, if you saw the place now, you'd be quite shocked. It looks like something really odd is going on, and perhaps it is. It's a first. The Ultimate Fight Championship is gonna be at the White House on June 14th, which also happens to be President Trump's 80th birthday. So I decided, okay, um, I'm not big into it, but maybe I'm just plain wrong, so I wanted to talk to one of the big stars to find out, you know, what is it about this? So I called Tito Ortiz, and boy, [laughs] he's, he's a, he's a hoot. He's smart, he's gracious, and he's a little bit Mike Tyson-like in that I had no interest in boxing until I met and became friends with Mike Tyson. Well, Tito, he sells UFC. I'm now going to watch it, I admit it. I, I thought, like, you gotta be kidding me. Two, you know, a couple guys in a ring trying to kill themselves or each other. Well, the way Tito describes it, and he talks about, I think... Okay, I'm gonna watch. So now you watch my podcast with Tito and see what I mean. [upbeat music] So Tito, you made me very popular in my office because someone said, "You have Tito Ortiz?" [laughs] [laughs] So I'm very