Dana White takes a shot at Bellator's pay-per-view cancellation

As you might expect, UFC President Dana White isn’t exactly broken up about Bellator MMA’s recent pay-per-view woes.

White didn’t exactly do a victory dance when asked for his thoughts on UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz’s injury withdrawal from the Viacom-owned promotion’s ill-fated pay-per-view event, which takes place Saturday.

But he couldn’t help but have a little fun at his rivals’ expense.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said sarcastically at the post-event press conference for this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 30 event. “It breaks my heart. Couldn’t happen to a better bunch of guys.”

Even that response was measured for White, who’s frequently taken aim at Bellator and Ortiz – who retired from the UFC and then joined Bellator’s ranks – in the media. Most recently, he balked at an offer from the promotion’s CEO to sign Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren for a fight with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, and said the UFC won’t counter-program Saturday’s event, which takes place at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif. After the PPV cancellation, the card, which features three title fights and an intriguing title rematch between Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez, now airs free on Spike TV.

Bellator, for the most part, has shied away from engaging in a tete-a-tete with the UFC boss. Rebney, though, said the “ridiculously one-dimensional” Askren would dominate St-Pierre, and touted his promotion’s ability to secure an international TV deal with the UFC’s domestic broadcast partner, FOX.

Less fiery responses, to be sure. No one, however, beats White in the department of bombast. While the executive’s response to Bellator’s recent misfortune was somewhat tempered, more outbursts are guaranteed to come.

For more on Bellator 106, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Dana White)