UFC president Dana White says that he will fire anyone on his staff who approaches a judge or a referee in their dispute of the outcome of a fight.
UFC color commentator Dan Hardy came under fire last week when he got into a verbal confrontation with referee Herb Dean following a controversial late stoppage in a catchweight bout between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert. Hardy yelled for Dean to stop the fight after Herbert took some extra shots, and was then caught on video getting into it with Dean. Both men have since released statements on the matter.
Speaking to reporters before UFC on ESPN+ 31, a reporter asked White about the Hardy incident as well as an incident in Abu Dhabi where a fighter shoved referee Marc Goddard. White told the media that anyone on his staff who approaches a judge, referee, or any other official will be fired on the spot. He did not confirm if Hardy was fired, however, and it appears that White is using that incident as a warning for everyone on his staff going forward.
“If you work for me in any capacity an you approach a referee of an official, I will fire you on the spot. That can never happen here again.”
Dana White makes it perfectly clear where he stands with people approaching the referees. pic.twitter.com/Xe6lsoRDKI
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) July 31, 2020
“Something went down last night in Abu Dhabi, too, where Goddard got pushed. I want to make this very clear: If you work for me, and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you. You will lose your job. You will never work for me again if you do that,” White said.
“Nobody has the right to (approach them). Listen, you want to criticize judges, you want to criticize referees, you didn’t agree with a decision or things like that. We love Dan (Hardy), and Dan got emotional. The problem is that with this setup, it’s a lot easier to do. It’s a lot easier to interact with everyone. From the fighters to the referees to the media and everybody. If you work for me in any capacity and you approach a referee or judge or any official, I will fire you that night on the spot. That can never happen here ever again.”
Do you agree with what Dana White said?