Burt Watson reveals more details of his UFC exit & Munoz incident: ‘I was questioned about my work’

Sometimes the smallest events can have the largest repercussions. Such seems to be the case with Burt Watson leaving the UFC. Watson recently appeared on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, where he gave further details on the event that led to his exit from the position of event coordinator for the Zuffa MMA promotion. From the sound of things, early reports about an incident involving Mark Munoz (although not, in fact, directly) were at the heart of the matter.

According to MMA Fighting, after Munoz failed to make weight on his first attempt and had to stay behind to re-weigh in, he was left at the LA Live Event Center without a ride to take him to his hotel room. Watson claims that he had Munoz’s ride all scheduled and has no idea why it didn’t arrive, but Munoz had to wait to get picked up for about an hour before getting a ride back to his hotel, only 10 minutes away. Sounds like no big deal to anyone who’s ever been involved with travel and event planning, but apparently it was a big deal to one of the UFC officials, who called Watson shortly afterward.

“I was approached and it was not in a proper manner, at least in my opinion,” Watson said. “I was questioned about my work, about the way I handled things. That’s the way I felt. Quite honestly, I didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t approve of it.”
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“You respect the process,” Watson said. “You respect the system. And sometimes before you make certain decisions, respect the creator of the system. There’s a reason why a mother would leave her cubs in the cave. She’s gotta go find some food, baby. But she comes back. If you go in there and see those cubs by themselves, she’s either out getting food, hunting for the kill or she’s dead. But she didn’t just leave them cubs just to be leaving them.”

So, there you have it. Watson gave a few more details in the Interview, including the fact that Munoz reached out to him shortly afterward, to ensure that there were no hard feelings between the two of them. It’s a position Watson fully endorsed, “He reached out to me in a text and I called him back to let him know that I have no qualms with you, baby. And that’s exactly how I’ve said it.”