UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz (16-11-1 MMA, 15-11-1 UFC) takes a deep breath before he answers. Long one of the most outspoken men in the sport of MMA, Ortiz briefly considers just how much he wants to reveal. But as he weighs the reality staring up at him on a computer screen, he decides to go all in.
"I wasn't going to talk about it, but my kids are down for a nap right now," Ortiz told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "I just took an hour nap, myself, because I get up at 6 a.m. every morning, and I take care of these kids Monday through Saturday. I have a nanny that comes in and helps me because Jenna doesn't want to be a mom. She has a problem, and I don't want to bash her because she's the mother of my children. But I've tried to help somebody for the last seven years. I tried to make a family, and it's hard to do that when somebody else doesn't want to contribute. I just look at as I can't help somebody that doesn't want to be helped. She can try and bash me as much as possible. The only thing it's hurting is my children."
Ortiz was speaking just moments after Jenna Jameson, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his twin boys, had taken to Twitter to bash the former UFC champ for allegedly preventing her from seeing their children, as well as to accuse Ortiz of drug use. On the latter charge, Jameson went so far as to post pictures of what she said was Ortiz's drawer, though the most damning feature of the shot was a few syringes and a bottle of prescription-strength ibuprofen.
"She accused me of drug use," Ortiz said. "I've been in the UFC for 15 years. I've taken drug tests at every single one of my fights. I take them months before my fight, a month before my fight, right before my fight, after the fight. She can try to bash me as much as possible, but it is what it is. When someone has a problem like she does, she can't help herself. I tried for seven years to help her. Right now, it's just about my children.
"I'm here every single day supporting my kids. She had an opportunity to see her kids, and all of a sudden, she calls the monitor saying she can't do it today. I don't understand it. I don't want to bash her. I work hard for my children. That's it. I tried to help somebody who doesn't want to be helped. That's it. She can sit here and bash me all she wants on social media. Her fans can believe her. But I'm going to court right now."
Ortiz said he and Jameson are currently in the middle of what's proving to be a very bitter battle over custody of the twin boys, Jesse and Journey, who are now 4 years old. But he insists he's never tried to prevent Jameson from seeing her kids. Instead, he said it's actually Jameson, a former adult film star, who has struggled to meet the terms of the court-ordered monitored visitation.
"She has opportunities to see her children," Ortiz said. "She hasn't shown up. She flakes out. I'm just trying to do the right things for my kids right now. I'm taking care of myself. I have a nanny helping me, and I'm trying to do the right thing for my children. The only thing she's doing on the Internet right now bashing me is hurting my children. If people believe the things she says, I can't do anything about it. People who know the kind of person I am, they can see how I am with my children. My true fans know how I am with my kids.
"No. 1 is my children. I'm not out doing appearances at strip clubs and partying with people and going crazy. I'm here with my kids. From 6 a.m. to 8 o'clock at night. Monday through Friday, I'm waking them up, I'm feeding them, I'm putting clothes on their back, I'm taking them to school and dropping them off. I come back home and take an hour nap, I go back and pick them up from school, take them home, go for a walk with them, feed them, put them down for a nap and then spend the day with them. Then I shower them, feed them dinner and get them ready for bed and put them down. I have a nanny that comes in and helps me clean and so forth, but I need some help. For her not to want to be here, I have no explanation for it."
Today's spat isn't the first time the high-profile couple have bickered in public. Jameson has often aired the pair's dirty laundry via Twitter, and the two were featured prominently in the news in 2010 when Ortiz was arrested on charges of domestic violence. At the time, Ortiz claimed that Jameson was addicted to OxyContin, and she later withdrew the charges.
"I just sit back and let her do her own thing, and hopefully she doesn't try to ruin my career like she has already from way back when in 2010 when she said that I assaulted her," Ortiz said. "That was ridiculous. I'm 230 pounds and a former UFC world champion. She's 100 pounds. For her to say that I ever assaulted her? For anyone to even believe that, they're just lost and believing someone who has a problem who lost herself. I'll just let the truth speak when I win full custody of these kids."
