UFC President Dana White was asked to discuss the hot topic of MMA judging following tonight’s UFC 247 event in Houston, Texas.
UFC 247 was headlined by a light heavyweight title fight featuring reining division champion Jon Jones taking on undefeated contender Dominick Reyes.
The fight proved to be extremely competitive, with many fans and analysts believing Reyes had done enough after twenty-five minutes of action to receive a decision victory from the judges in attendance.
Ultimately the judges did not see the UFC 247 headliner in favor of ‘The Devastator’, as all three judges scored the bout for Jon Jones.
While the decision victory was deemed controversial by some, it was far from an outright robbery. With that said, tonight’s UFC 247 event in Houston left much to be desired in regards to mixed martial arts judging.
TSN journalist Aaron Bronsteter caught up with UFC President Dana White shortly following tonight’s event, where he asked for the bosses thoughts on tonight’s judging in Texas.
“The judging tonight was no exception. One of the judges gave Trevin Giles the first round against Krause, where (James) Krause had his back for almost four minutes of that round. How do you allow this to go on? This is the same judge who gave (Jon) Jones four rounds, and the same judge who gave Andre Ewell three rounds, when Ewell was basically fighting with one hand in that third round and basically being outclassed. What can you do about this?” Bronsteter asked Dana White. “I know you don’t select the judges, it is the commission, but what can you do?”
Dana White responded with the following:
“Yea, I couldn’t have said that any better myself. And it is true, one of the problems with Texas is that these guys don’t have a lot of big fight experience. Mark Rattner and Hunter Campbell need to work with the Texas Athletic Commission to, you know, try and make these things better. You know, they have to realize that what they take away from these guys, when they put people in there that let’s just say don’t have the experience or maybe even the knowledge, to be a part of these big fights. If you make it into the UFC, you don’t even have to be at the Jon Jones or Dominick Reyes level of the fight. The first prelim of the night. These kids finally made it to the UFC and a lot is at stake. You cannot put the wrong people in these fights. Even with some of the reffing tonight. You know, it is one of these things that we are always going to battle.”
What do you think of Dana White’s response to the controversial judging at tonight’s UFC 247 event in Houston Texas? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com February 9, 2020