The controversies surrounding the UFC 307 officiating can be broken down into three distinct categories; wild scorecards from the judges, fouls being repeatedly ignored by the referees, and even a core issue with how MMA fights are themselves officiated.
With not one, not two, but three different controversies relating to the officiating at UFC 307, it’s no surprise to hear that UFC CEO Dana White was furious at the post-fight press conference.
Dana White roasts ‘atrocious’ judging and refereeing at UFC 307 in fiery rant
The first of three ‘issues’ surrounding the officiating at UFC 307 was the judges’ scorecards and already after a few contentious totals on the prelims, it would be the co-main event that was put under the spotlight.
The majority of fans, including the commentary team, had the bantamweight title fight 2-2 going into the fifth; a round which appeared to swing in favor of Raquel Pennington; however, the judges ultimately awarded Julianna Pena the win via split decision.
When asked what he thought about the scorecards for the co-main event, Dana White would simply state “I thought the judging tonight was atrocious.
“It felt like I was at a boxing match in Ireland tonight… I thought the judging tonight was atrocious, I’ll just leave it at that. Atrocious.”
The second controversy occurred during the prelim bout between middleweights Cesar Almeida and Ihor Potieria; with Almeida being guilty of up to five different eye pokes and low blows yet failing to hear a single warning from the referee.
“I missed that [fight],” admitted White, before sharing how UFC Executive Marc Ratner “walked in right after and was like ‘That ain’t happening again tonight’” in regards to referee Dave Seljestad taking part in future contests.
Yet the third controversy is by far the most hotly debated; with bantamweight Mario Bautista repeatedly shooting for takedowns on Jose Aldo to the point where the vast majority of the fight was Bautista holding Aldo to the side of the fence and barely landing any strikes.
“I always think that the referees should be more active on that, 100%, especially when someone keeps doing it to stall,” White ranted to media members, noting how “You guys aren’t going to let up on this are you, so let’s get into it.
“If you’re judging a guy if it’s on control, this or that, if you’re not trying to fight then how do you win the fight? If you’re looking at attempted takedowns, well what about stuffing the takedowns? It was just madness.”
Is there a difference between offensive grappling and wasting time? White believes so.
“100%, when you can tell that a guy definitely doesn’t want to stand and strike and just wants to stall along the fence, that’s the ref’s job – when they see it continually happening and the guy is not trying to win the fight, then you keep breaking them up.”
Former double champion Conor McGregor would take to social media in the aftermath of the Jose Aldo fight to suggest that the UFC could implement some type of clock to stop athletes from stalling against the cage.
“I don’t think you even need a [stalling] clock,” responded White to the rule change recommendation, as “I think it’s common sense.
“When the guy keeps doing it and is doing everything that he can to not fight and not win the fight, as a ref you should break that up immediately.
“If he did it three rounds in a row and he keeps doing it, and he doesn’t get the takedown [then] give him a couple of seconds to see if he gets the takedown, then break it up.”