Dana White baffled by Mario Bautista’s (cough) ‘win’ over Jose Aldo, roasts UFC 307 referees for non-interference

Please, Jose Aldo, do not fight in Utah anymore.

Mario Bautista scored the biggest career win at UFC 307 last night (Sat., Oct. 5, 2024) when he noticed a somewhat close split decision win over former Featherweight king Aldo from inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The fight had some high points, but for the most part, it was pretty lame. In the third round, Bautista used his fight IQ to clinch Aldo against the cage to stall for a win.

UFC CEO Dana White was baffled by the referee's decision to let Bautista hold Aldo against the cage for so long.

"I always think that the referee should be more active on that, 100%, especially when somebody keeps doing it to stall," White told the media during the UFC 307 post-fight press conference (watch here). "You guys aren't going to f—king let up on this, are you? I guess we'll get into it. If you're judging a guy, whether it is control, if it's this or that, if you're not trying to fight, how do you win the fight? Right? And if you're looking at attempted takedowns, what about stuffing the takedowns? Just madness.

"When you can tell that the guy definitely doesn't want to stand and strike and just wants to stall against the fence. Yes, the refs, that's their job. When they see it continually happening and that the guy is not trying to win the fight, then you keep breaking them up...I mean, it's common sense when the guy keeps doing it and is doing everything he can to not fight and not win the fight. As a ref, you should break it up immediately," White concluded.

Being a mixed martial arts (MMA) referee is a tough job. However, there seems to be a lack of consistency when it comes to standing fighters up due to a lack of action or standing them up too quickly (like Herb Dean at UFC 306 in the Merab Dvalishvilli vs. Sean O'Malley).

Nevertheless, if referees don't enforce action when a fighter stalls, the fighters will do it, just like Bautista did tonight.

The 31-year-old Bantamweight has now won 7-straight.

For complete UFC 307 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.