Dana White says Tito Ortiz advised 'Cyborg' Santos not to fight Ronda Rousey

• White says Rousey vs. 'Cyborg' should be happening, blames Ortiz that it isn't
• In a text message to USA TODAY Sports, Ortiz denied White's claim

SEATTLE – UFC President Dana White's eyes widened, and a smile appeared to block the release of a stream of expletives.

A fight between newly crowned UFC women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and ex-Strikeforce champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1) would have headlined UFC 157, he said the moment before, but UFC Hall of Famer turned manager Tito Ortiz told Santos not to take the fight.

"That's the fight that should be happening," White said. "Tito Ortiz is her manager, and he advised against it."

After two more opponents turned down Rousey, onetime Strikeforce bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was given the title shot.

UFC 157 takes place Feb. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rousey vs. Carmouche will be the main event of the card, which will air on pay-per-view, FX and Facebook.

In a text message to USA TODAY Sports, Ortiz denied White's claim.

"That was never said!" he wrote. "'Cyborg' will fight her anytime, anywhere at 145. Cris said she would kill herself trying to make 135. I won't allow it, (and) neither should the UFC or Dana. Cris wants the fight, fans want the fight, and so does the UFC.

"If Ronda is such a great fighter, why doesn't she fight at the weight she started at? This is no different than (Anderson) Silva cutting to 170 to fight GSP. It's not healthy, period."

Santos, however, said on Wednesday that while she isn't able to make 135 pounds for UFC 157, she is with the proper amount of time. She said negotiations with the UFC are ongoing.

Rousey, who accepted her new belt at the pre-fight press conference for Saturday's UFC on FOX 5, doled out some backhanded praise on the recent reversal.

"I wasn't the least bit surprised," she told USA TODAY Sports. "I know she can make 135, and so does she. It just takes her a little while to realize that this is the only option she has. It took her a little bit longer because I don't think she's that bright. Once she does sit down and think about it, we'll have the only fight that really makes sense."

The champ said both Miesha Tate and Sara McMann, who are widely expected to be UFC bound, turned down the title shot at UFC 157.

After trying to book the Santos fight, White said the UFC, "made some phone calls to people, and people were like, 'Ah, I'd like to get a fight under my belt before I take that one."

"I think it's really funny that when me and Miesha were supposed to fight, she was going on and on about how I didn't deserve to fight her, and now she doesn't want to fight me," Rousey said. "And I also think it's really funny that Sara was telling all these people that I was running away from her, and then she turns down a fight for the UFC title. I mean, c'mon.

"These girls talk up a really big game, but they don't really want to come into the cage and fight me. I'm here, I've got this. If they want it, they know where I'm at."

Reached following a signing at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash., Tate said she was never explicitly offered a fight with Rousey and said she would have been more than willing to fight in February.

"I've made it pretty clear that I wanted to take some time off since my last fight, and that was back in August, so maybe because of that, the opportunity wasn't presented to me. But it was never offered to me.

"The only thing that I can say is when I was down in Brazil, (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) asked if I might be interested in fighting in February. There was never any mention of an opponent or it being in the UFC. So I said, 'I still want to take a little more time off and find myself as a fighter and a person. It was never made clear to me at all that it would be such a huge opportunity, that it could be against Ronda or in the UFC. At that point, they hadn't even announced that women were coming to the UFC. This was back in early October when the UFC was down in Brazil."

McMann was unreachable for comment.

Steven Marrocco writes for MMAJunkie.com, a USA TODAY Sports Media property.