UFC CEO Dana White has spoken out on Noche UFC judge Mike Bell’s widely panned score total in a recent title fight.
On September 16, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko collided in a rematch for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship. The titleholder entering the bout was Grasso, who captured the gold six months prior when she submitted Shevchenko via face crank. Grasso walked out of the rematch as the champion as well, but it didn’t come without controversy.
After five rounds of action in the heavily praised fight, the judges’ score totals were read. Two of the judges were split on a winner, as one scored the fight for Grasso, while the other saw Shevchenko as the winner. In the end, it was judge Mike Bell who was at the center of attention for the wrong reason. Bell scored the fight 47-47, making this title fight a split draw. What got Bell flak was the fact that he gave Grasso a 10-8 score for the fifth round.
Dana White On Controversial Noche UFC Judge
During a recent media scrum following an episode of his Contender Series, Dana White revealed what his initial reaction was to the 10-8 score.
“So, I was on vacation when this thing happened and I’m sitting in my house, when I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8. I’m like, ‘This guy should be f*cking investigated for this. This is the craziest sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life,'” White said.
The UFC CEO went on to say that all he can do is wait for the fallout of the NSAC’s seminar on 10-8 scores to see if positive change will come of it.
“Hopefully, they can get this cleared up, especially in title [fights],” White said. “There’s so much at stake in a title fight. More than just money, show and win, and pay-per-view, and championships, and legacies. You have to have the best of the best in title fights. They’ve assured me that this guy isn’t a bad guy, he just f*cked up and made a mistake. It’s unfortunate, and there’s no way in hell that was a 10-8 round.”
Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3 On UFC’s Radar
When asked whether or not a trilogy fight between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko is in order, White didn’t hesitate to answer.
“You have to do the rematch,” White said. “We will rematch them. It’s the right thing to do, it’s the fight that needs to happen.”
Here’s the full Dana White presser:
