UFC President Dana White Helps Out Tito Ortiz
By Chris Leslie on January 30, 2013
After UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz revealed his trouble with the UFC fighter insurance company this past Monday’s “MMA Hour,” it appears that UFC president Dana White has stepped up to help his one-time nemesis. Ortiz tweeted out a thank you to the company, and to White, after his former manager opted to help Tito pay the bill out-of-pocket.
@danawhite came out of pocket to take care of my neck surgery. Thank you @ufc
— Tito Ortiz (@titoortiz) January 30, 2013
Ortiz’s issues were due to a neck surgery the fighter had after his final bout last summer. The insurance company had apparently opted to pay the bill before they later denied the fighter’s claim.
Ortiz finished his illustrious career with a hard-fought loss to Forrest Griffin last summer at UFC 148. The former fighter has now moved into fighter management, where he currently advises clients like former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
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Why would they deny his claim? That should bring up a red flag for other fighters that might have future health issues that use Zuffa’s health insurance.
jason miller said they gave him the run around and would not take care of his knee surgery!! (paraphrasing)
Dana talks about fighter insurance often enough?
i am confused why these things are issues?
just curios?
Because an insurance company’s job is to maximize shareholder value and the only way to do that is by minimizing the claims it pays. It has nothing to do with the UFC at all.
Jason Miller was also high and naked in a church. Not exactly reliable testimony.
Sadly, he wasn’t high. He tried to pull a Kaufman and it backfired because the movie sucked.
As for the knee issue, UFC claims they never received the request for the surgery. White came close to violating HIPAA(could be argued that he did) by releasing a company letter about the matter. It’s all hearsay really, but there’s weight behind both sides.
Insurance companies routinely deny claims, that’s literally what those companies pay people to do (find a reason to deny). Not really on the UFC there sadly, just how the insurance companies play the game. I had a complete tear of my mpfl in my knee, and the insurance company originally labeled the surgery “elective.” Never mind that my knee cap couldn’t stay in place.