SALT LAKE CITY – On a night on which judging left many viewers scratching their heads, Dana White was right there with them.
Following UFC 307 on Saturday in Salt Lake City, White admitted he was not a fan of some of the scorecards turned in.
“The judging tonight was atrocious,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the event at Delta Center. “I felt like I was at a boxing match in Ireland tonight.”
The judging wasn’t the only regulatory topic that entered the public discourse during Saturday’s fights. While White said he missed the highly-criticized officiating by local referee Dave Seljestad, he added that UFC senior vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner indicated his displeasure at actions taken during the fight between Cesar Almeida and Ihor Potieria.
The main card bout between Mario Bautista and Jose Aldo also became a hot topic. Aldo was repeatedly smothered by Bautista against the fence, which caused his former rival Conor McGregor to become irate on social media.
McGregor took exception with the idea of stalling and proposed that a clock be installed to limit the amount of inactivity that could occur before a separation.
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White agreed that protocols should be adjusted to promote more action, though doesn’t think a clock is necessary.
“I always think that the referees should be more active on that, 100 percent, especially when somebody keeps doing it to stall. You guys aren’t going to f*cking let up on this, are you? I guess we’ll get into it. If you’re judging a guy on control or this or that, if you’re not trying to fight, how do you win the fight? If you’re looking at attempted takedowns, then what about stuffing the takedowns. Just madness.”
“… When you can tell that the guy definitely doesn’t want to stand and strike and just wants to stall against the fence, yes, the refs, that’s their job. When they see it continually happening and that the guy is not trying to win the fight, then you keep breaking them up.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
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