Dana White Almost Had Boxing Match with Tito Ortiz, 'Absolutely' Would've Won

UFC president Dana White and retired mixed martial artist Tito Ortiz have squared off in the past, but as it turns out, the two nearly had an official showdown in the ring.

In a segment for Fox News' OBJECTified that airs Sunday, White revealed that he had spent "serious time" training for the bout, noting he even brought in a trainer.

"I absolutely would've won that boxing match," White said (h/t TMZ).

In the end, though, Ortiz "blinked," according to the UFC boss. Therefore, no official fight.

This is not the first time White has touched on the subject. A few years ago, he talked about his disappointment regarding the lack of a fight to Fox Sports (Warning: NSFW language):

White conceded in that video that Ortiz (19-12-1) would "murder" him in an MMA fight. When it comes to a boxing match, though, he'd take his chances.

Ortiz and White never did get a deal in place to go head-to-head in the ring—but that hasn't kept them from rumbling in the past.

White once acknowledged to Conan O'Brien (h/t Fox Sports) that the two have in fact gotten physical:

"We were gonna fight one time in a boxing match but I actually never told this story publicly before but we were on a private plane on our way to Japan and it was my partners, the Fertitta brothers, myself, Tito Ortiz and our matchmaker at the time, Joe Silva. Tito and I were messing around and he put me in what's called a neck crank. I was tapping and he didn't stop. You can seriously hurt somebody in a neck crank, especially as big and strong as Tito is.

"So I just started blasting him in the ribs, started punching him in the ribs and when he let go [I] just jumped up and it was just a full blown fist fight in the plane."

The White-Ortiz feud could've been settled with a boxing match, but instead, the UFC boss will always have to look back and wonder what could've happened.