"Always going to have problems" - Dana White on "frustrating" discrepancies in MMA judging and refereeing
UFC president Dana White has admitted that the UFC has and will always have problems with MMA judging.
White shared that he is frustrated at some of the calls by the officials but is resigned to the fact that it likely won't change. The 52-year-old also takes issue with the fact that many of the problems arise as a result of each US states' own athletic commissions, which the UFC cannot change.
Speaking on The Spinnin' Backfist MMA Show, White admitted to understanding fan grievances with perceived-to-be 'dodgy' calls.
"It's one of the things we've always had problems with and it's something we'll always have problems with. It's one of the hardest things. We're sanctioned by the athletic commissions. They oversee us. We don't oversee them. We try to do everything we can to help make the judging better, the reffing better. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a fight and seeing someone win that lost or lose but win. It's literally the worst, especially if you bet on them."
Catch the full interview below:
A recent example of controversial judging was Holly Holm vs. Ketlen Vieira on May 22. Holm outlanded the Brazilian in three of the five rounds and also had over 10 minutes of cage control time. Despite this, Kelten Vieira walked away with a split-decision victory.
There was a lot of debate amongst fans about the decision. Although Holm was up on most stats, many argued that she didn't use the control time efficiently. In contrast, Vieira's shots appeared to damage Holm a lot more and she also came very close to a submission victory in the second round.
With that said, many pundits have suggested that some fans may have looked at the official fight stats and questioned the decision without first understanding the judging criteria.
Official significant striking stats for Holm vs. Vieira https://t.co/5AQVmzX5vI
Even as recently as this past weekend, the stoppage in the Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight was met with criticism. Volkov clipped Rozenstruik and continued to throw a flurry of punches in the very first round.
Despite Rozenstruik falling to his knees and clearly being wobbled, some suggested that referee Herb Dean stepped in to fast.
Dana White admits there are still no fights planned for Nate Diaz
'Nate Diaz versus the UFC' has been going on for some time. The Stockton-born fighter has been at war with the company, even once asking to be released from his contract.
Diaz has just one fight remaining on his deal before it expires. The 37-year-old has been extremely vocal on social media about his desire to explore other avenues outside of the UFC, but he has to fulfill his contract first.
With that in mind, Diaz believes that the UFC is intentionally delaying finding him an opponent.
I been tryin to fight for a year and months I also tried to fight kamzat for the last month and a half but he was hurt, had visa issues,overweight and now his bitchass is off getting married instead of fighting wtf ? I’m tryin to get a fight wit a real fighter asap/July
LFG
In an interview with MMA Underground, UFC president Dana White addressed whether or not there is a fight planned for Diaz and whether fans will see him in the octagon soon.
White delivered an unsurprisingly short answer:
"Nothing right now, but yes, we will [sort it]."
Watch Dana White discuss the Nate Diaz situation here: