Tito Ortiz's UFC final could be Friday

That quickly changed as Ortiz, riding on immense popularity, helped build the Ultimate Fighting Championships from the underground up.

With him, UFC events have been sellouts in Las Vegas. With him, the UFC has had some of the most-watched pay-per-view events in its history. After tonight, the UFC will be without him. Maybe.

At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Ortiz will make what he said would be his final appearance with the UFC. The main event in the sold-out UFC 84 belongs to lightweight champion B.J. Penn and the division's former title holder, Sean Shirk, who was stripped of his belt last year after testing positive for steroids. But eyes are on Ortiz (16-5-1) as he takes on undefeated light-heavyweight Lyoto Machida (12-0).

The 33-year-old Ortiz said he would have preferred to finish his career with the organization that launched him into the stratosphere of MMA fighters, but his relationship with UFC President Dana White, his former manager, has kept that from happening.

What began souring five years ago took an ugly turn last week during a conference call promoting tonight's fight.

In that call, White was not kind, calling Ortiz a liar and ridiculing his business acumen (Ortiz has a multimillion-dollar clothing line) and fighting ability. White then said he has never hoped one of his fighters would get beaten in the caged octagon, but he wished that upon Ortiz.

Those remarks were the final straw for Ortiz. On Tuesday, a few hours before departing for Las Vegas from his training camp in Big Bear, he said there was "zero chance" of re-signing with the UFC.

"The conference call last week shut the door 100%," he said. "Dana is a monster. He's a class-act bully and that's what it comes down to."

White purchased the UFC in 2001, investing with casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. Though popular with hard-core fans at the time, MMA was often compared to human cockfighting.

White sought to change that through clever marketing. He gave away hundreds of tickets to a UFC event at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, inviting cable company executives and the mainstream media. The organization lost $2.4 million that night, but increased the sport's visibility and lessened the stigma.