UFC CEO Dana White(Image: (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC))

Dana White slams Irish boxing judges again after UFC 307

“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.”

by · Irish Mirror

Dana White once again took aim at the quality of boxing judging in Ireland as he slammed the performance of scorekeepers ringside for UFC 307 on Saturday.

White was furious at the judging for his boxing event at the 3Arena last month, with Emmet Brennan's points win over Kevin Cronin criticised by the UFC boss.

Speaking about the performance of judging at UFC 307, White said: “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.”

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On a night where there were a number of unpopular judging decisions, the performance of referees was also called into question. One bout in particular highlighted this issue, as Mario Bautista grappled his way to a split-decision win over Jose Aldo despite many fans believing Bautista was simply wasting time rather than trying to advance position.

“I always think that the referees should be more active on that, 100%, especially when someone keeps doing it to stall,” a frustrated White said to the media, “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.”

White wasn't the only person irritated by the decision as Conor McGregor took to social media, demanding the UFC to implement a new rule to prevent excessive grappling.

McGregor, who famously knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds back in 2015, took to social media to slam the fight, writing: "Dirt decision. Rogan said the judges weren’t even looking. That was Jose’s story. Bulls*** decision."

Conor McGregor of Ireland exits the Octagon after his victory over Jose Aldo of Brazil in their UFC featherweight championship bout(Image: Getty)

"He has just said he was shooting in just to hold him against the fence. That’s not good enough. Referees need to step in here. This sport is the fans' sport. Remember this and act accordingly referees, going forward, thank you.

"As referee, if the fighters go to the same place over and over I would be putting the position on a clock. And each time they end back there the clock goes shorter. 30 second clock. 20 second clock, 10 second, 8 second, 6 second etc etc etc separate, separate, separate. No point prolonging these positions as if they haven’t taken place exactly the same way prior and nothing has taken place but stalling. My opinion.

"It’s bad form but an easy fix! Referees need to implement the ‘McGregor Clock’ method. Check my tweets here on this. Also it wasn’t failed takedowns it was direct stalling he said it post interview.

"People jiggling a little bit is to keep the referee from stepping in. REFEREES NEED TO BE ON POINT HERE. For the fans! Some refs won’t like I named that clock after myself but whatever, call it what ya’s want. But implement it! Dana [White, UFC CEO], say it to them."

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