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Dana White is not happy
UFC CEO (not President anymore) Dana White is big mad about how the main event of Noche UFC ended last weekend. The UFC boss recently discussed what he thought about the split draw decision that came at the end of Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 and resulted in Grasso retaining the UFC flyweight title.
At his Contender Series press conference (a show he decided to attend, unlike Noche UFC), White told his least loathed reporters how much he hated the scorecard that caused the a draw.
“When I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8, I’m like, this guy should be fucking investigated for this,” aid White. This is the craziest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“I started to talk to people, I guess there’s a seminar tomorrow with the athletic commission on 10-8s, so hopefully they can get this cleared up,” added White, alluding to a forthcoming meeting of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
White then revealed that he had spoken with the commission about judge Mike Bell, who scored a 10-8 round five for Grasso (a scorecard many observers are scratching their head about).
“They’ve assured me that this guy isn’t a bad guy, he just fucked up and made a mistake,” said White. “It’s unfortunate and there’s no way in hell that was a 10-8 round.”
White went on to bemoan that Bell would likely never appear before the media to answer questions on his scoring of the fight. Which is a little rich considering White’s interactions with the media are not exactly forthcoming and, at times, obstructive and antagonistic.
Valentina Shevchenko shares Dana White’s thoughts on that 10-8 round
It wasn’t just Dana White who was surprised with that 10-8 score.
UFC title challenger, and former champion, Valentina Shevchenko has also expressed her surprise and outrage at the scorecard that meant she did not reclaim the UFC’s 125 lb belt.
“From my experience, a 10-8 is when one fighter completely cannot not do nothing,” said Shevchenko during her post-fight press conference. “It’s like running around, waiting, looking for an escape from the Octagon; it’s miserable. In the fifth round, it was, like, four minutes or however many minutes in stand-up, and she didn’t land one punch. She could only take the back position in the last minute, minute and a half. I don’t remember now. But even there, it was not damage. It wasn’t too much damage to succeed with this 10-8.”
“I couldn’t believe that it happened in the fifth round,” she continued. “It’s a 10-8? It was surprising for me, very surprising.
“I feel that to give a 10-8, you have to be very sure that it is a 10-8, but it was not in our case,” continued Shevchenko. “It kind of wasn’t even close to a 10-8. And yeah, I hope [judging] is going to change. I know many fighters go through the same frustration when it goes that way. But, you cannot do nothing. The official decision is the official decision. As I mentioned, it’s a draw. It’s not a loss. But in my case, it’s not a victory.”
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