- Dana White spoke about his thoughts on Dustin Poirier following his submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302
- The UFC boss lashed out at the judge who scored the bout in favor Paulo Costa
UFC president Dana White was happy to talk about Dustin Poirier but evidently not about the judge who saw Paulo Costa winning against Sean Strickland at UFC 302.
Dustin can stay
Speaking to reporters in his post-UFC 302 presser, the UFC boss gladly welcomed “The Diamond” should the lightweight contender opts to stick around a little longer despite thinking about possible retirement.
“I think Dustin, coming out of that [Benoit] St-Denis fight, had a lot more confidence than he had going in. We put you in these positions to do great things and achieve greatness, and he was that close tonight. It’s up to him. It’s not up to me. He knows what he wants and doesn’t want. He knows how he felt and how he feels right now. Listen, he’s a star. He can stay around here as long as he wants to,” White said.
An awful judge
White was also quizzed to comment on judge Dave Tirelli, who was the only one who got Costa winning on his scorecard. Strickland obviously didn’t pull off the best performance of his career at UFC 302 but two judges had him beating the Brazilian, 50-45 and 49-46. However, Tirelli came up with a bizarre tally of 49-46 in favor of Costa. As expected, the UFC boss was livid.
#UFC302 Official Scorecard: Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) vs Paulo Costa
Complete Newark Scorecards: https://t.co/oWPVdPrJkb pic.twitter.com/ow2pDe7fjp
— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 2, 2024
“That wasn’t weird, it was f**king nuts is what it was,” White said of Tirelli. “It’s insane. That guy should never [judge] another big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging. It’s unbelievable.”
As it stands, Poirier has yet to decide if he is really calling it a career. For now, he would remain one of the Top-5 contenders in the lightweight division and the UFC appears to be supportive of what he wants to do.
On the other hand, Islam Makhachev seems to be no longer interested in knowing why the UFC has yet to make him the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter despite his impressive winning streak and sensational submission win over Poirier at UFC 302.
