UFC boss Dana White was left furious and ‘scared’ to ever host an event in Las Vegas again after controversy at UFC 167.
Las Vegas has become the most popular landing spot for the UFC to host its events, continuing its reputation as the fight capital of the world.
However, in 2013 when the MGM Grand Garden Arena hosted UFC 167, UFC boss Dana White was left furious and admitted he was ‘scared’ to ever host an event in Las Vegas again after huge controversy.
In the main event, Georges St-Pierre looked to defend his welterweight title against Johny Hendricks for an eye-watering tenth time, continuing his legacy as one of the greatest of all time.
Georges St-Pierre controversially retained his title against Hendricks
Despite being one of the most dominant champions at the time, St-Pierre had started to frustrate the fanbase with his fight style and began to receive a lot of criticism.
After successfully defending his title against Nick Diaz a few months prior, ‘Rush’ St-Pierre was booked to defend his title against Hendricks at UFC 167.
‘Big Rig’ Hendricks was on an impressive six-fight win streak and after a win over Carlos Condit, he was tasked with trying to dethrone St-Pierre.
With the Canadian looking relatively unstoppable throughout his career, if anyone was going to beat ‘Rush’, it was Hendricks, who packed a lot of power and had a credentialed wrestling background.
And that notion played out during the fight as Hendricks landed some huge shots on St-Pierre as the champion tried to tactically outstrike the challenger.
When the final bell sounded, the majority of fans believed that a new champion was about to be crowned and that St-Pierre’s historic title reign was about to come to an end.
Despite that, two of the three judges deemed St-Pierre the winner and he retained his title in what was one of the most controversial results of all time.
Dana White launched scathing attack on athletic commission following main event
16/16 media members scored the fight in favor of Hendricks, and after the fight, White launched a scathing attack on the Nevada State Athletic Commission, questioning the result.
“Does anyone here think that Johny Hendricks didn’t win the fight?” Dana asked during the post-fight press conference.
“Did you see Georges get smashed and hurt in the first round? It’s about damage. This is a fight. It’s whoever inflicts the most damage… I’m blown away that Georges St-Pierre won that fight.
“Listen, I’m a promoter, and he’s the biggest PPV star on the planet for me, and I still don’t think he won that fight. I want what’s fair, and that wasn’t fair. I think the Nevada State Athletic Commission is atrocious. I think the governor needs to step in immediately before they destroy this sport like they did boxing.
“I’m scared to come back here and do fights, I’m afraid of this state,” he continued.
St-Pierre later revealed that his belt was taken from him whilst he was showering after the fight and was only put back on the table when he entered the press conference.
In his retirement, St-Pierre continues to claim that that’s the only belt he doesn’t have.