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UFC president Dana White enjoyed how the action went down in the main event of UFC 259 on Saturday at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, but he wasn’t super happy with how the fight was scored by the three judges.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz denied UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya’s bold bid to become just the fifth UFC “champ champ” in history.
Blachowicz used timely takedowns during the last two rounds to get the win, and the Polish powerhouse was awarded the victory in the fight by scores of 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46. White called the scoring of the bout “insane”, though he didn’t necessarily disagree with Blachowicz being named the winner in the bout.
“When you get two of the best in the world and they fight, it can turn into not a barnburner…The scoring is insane, these guys are giving out 10-8s,” White said.
White disputed the notion that either of the fighters should have been awarded a 10-8 round in any of the five rounds.
“There was no 10-8 in that fight,” White argued.
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White Polled Media About ‘Ridiculous’ Scorecards
White called the scorecards ridiculous, and the UFC boss polled the post-fight media in Las Vegas over the matter and got the same answer.
“Israel was winning the first half of the round, then Jan took him down and won the fight in the second half of the round. The only thing that makes that fight [four rounds to one] are ridiculous 10-8 rounds. I mean, who in this room thinks this fight was 4 to 1? Anybody? Tell me if you do,” White said.
White waited for any of the various media members onsite at UFC APEX to raise their hands about the fight, but none of them did so. That’s all the support White needed.
“Not one person in here who watches fights every weekend thinks that fight was 4-1. It’s a big problem right now with judging that needs to be fixed,” White said.
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White Unsure How To Fix Issue
When asked how White could help fix the problem, White said he didn’t know. In fact, White said he isn’t even quite sure why the problem exists in the first place.
“I don’t know the reason all of a sudden these guys are scoring 10-8’s for rounds that are clearly not 10-8’s,” White said.
White believes it could come down to judges being given wrong instructions by the commissions in charge of assigning them.
“It’s the criteria they’re being given right now. I think they’re getting some bad advice,” White said.
So White wasn’t happy with the judging at UFC 259 even though he didn’t disagree with who they tabbed as the winner.
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