Over the weekend, Max Rohskopf quit on the stool during his UFC debut. Now his coach, Robert Drysdale defends himself against the critics who felt he should have listened to his fighter in his requests to end the bout.
There has been a lot of criticisms directed towards Drysdale and his team, following the way they handled things in Rhoskopf’s bout. Max repeatedly told his coach that he was done and did not want to continue fighting, but they refused to listen. Ultimately the bout would be called, after Max told officials that he was done.
Following this backlash, Robert Drysdale has decided to speak out against the criticisms. Taking to his Instagram, he decided to stand by his actions, feeling like he was making the right call. Moreover, he slammed the people who were critical, saying that they should stay in their own lane.
“I stand by what I did,” Drysdale said. “I gave him the mental push that he needed. I would expect the exact same thing from him if he was in my shoes, or any of my coaches for that matter. Like I expect nothing but greatness from the people around me. If they’re critiquing me, that’s love. That’s true love. That’s the only way to show you care for someone, is to make sure they’re giving the best version of themselves. Had he been seriously injured, I would have been the first one to stop that fight. I would’ve stopped that fight before anyone else. No one cares about him more than I do other than his immediate family.
“I know he wasn’t seriously hurt,” Drysdale continued. “I know he was not in harm’s way. He was just frustrated. I was trying to give him a push so he overcame that frustration. I still believe he could have won the fight. I felt he won the first round. I don’t see how he lost the first round. He definitely lost the second. I think he thought he could’ve turned it in the third. Even if not in an exciting matter, he could have won a decision. That’s what I was trying to get him to do.
“If you pay close attention, I did call the fight at the very last second,” Drysdale said. “I did the right thing. I exhausted the 60 seconds and at the very last second, I called it. Strategically, that was the correct thing to do. I don’t regret my decision at all.”
From there, Drysdale points his attention towards media, blaming them for what he feels is misrespesenting what happened, and not providing proper context on the situation as a whole. Although there is something to be said for the idea that the video speaks for itself in large part. Regardless, he feels that there was this idea that Max had been hurt, when he was only tired instead.
At the end of the day, there is little that can be done about this situation, even by the NAC. It should also be noted that while Robert Drysdale did eventually relent and allow the fight to be stopped, Max Rohskopf had to specifically tell the officials himself that he was done, before the coach agreed. Either way, this is a tricky scenario, and does not speak to the other awesome work that Rob has done over the years.
