Dana White accused of being"dirty" by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov
Although the recent UFC 282 pay-per-view event was a smashing success, a few dubious calls, along with Dana White's seemingly biased remarks, soured the event.
The main event fight between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev ended on a contentious note when the judges scored the fight a split draw. Blachowicz even conceded that the judges were incorrect in awarding him a split draw.
Agitated that his efforts weren't recognized, Magomed Ankalaev momentarily cast doubt on his future in the UFC. He later clarified his comments, stating that he only meant that he wouldn't want to fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, anymore.
Furthermore, to add to Ankalaev's woes, the UFC recently announced that Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill would compete for the vacant light heavyweight throne, taking no account of the Dagestani's entitlement for another title shot.
In response to these events, the Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been instrumental in the growth of mixed martial arts in the Caucasus region, wrote to his roughly 3 million Telegram followers to reproach Dana White.
Investigative journalist Karim Zidan brought the message to light when Kadyrov questioned White's decision and advised him to apologize for the blunder and "save the UFC's reputation":
"Dana White, what happened to you? You were a normal, principled man, and today you took the championship belt out of the ring without handing it to the clear winner. Or has politics entered the UFC ring and requires you to referee dirty? It’s a sport, Dana. Be honest.”
Urging White to take a page out of ACA (Absolute Championship Akhmat) President Mairbek Khasiev's book, Ramzan Kadyrov further wrote:
"Hey, Dana White, were are you going? Save the face of the league, your own face. Admit your mistake, give the belt to the real winner, and apologize for this show. Save your league’s reputation.”
Check out the full message below:
Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov called out UFC President Dana White following the split draw in the UFC 282 main event.
The result saw Kadyrov’s fighter (Ankalaev) denied a UFC title, which the dictator ironically blamed on “politics” before demanding UFC change the result https://t.co/zN3LMvXgI7
Dana White's immediate thoughts in the aftermath of Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev
It is safe to say that Dana White wasn't impressed by the way the main event between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev played out.
Additionally, White didn't even score the main event of UFC 282 as he claimed he tuned out after three rounds because he didn't find the bout particularly exciting.
Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev react to their split draw at #UFC282 https://t.co/ND0DNWwUhG
White didn't have a lot of kind words for either Blachowicz or Ankalaev in his post-UFC 282 press conference reaction, and he wasn't too thrilled with the way the fight ended either:
“I heard Ankalaev is upset or whatever. What do you want me to do? You got beat up the first two rounds. You took him to the ground. What are you going to do? I thought the main event was terrible. What are you going to do? You do Glover vs. Jamahal Hill in Brazil for the vacant title. Done.”
Catch Dana White's appearance at the post-fight press conference below: