With UFC on ESPN+ 31 on the horizon, UFC president Dana White took part in a pre-fight interview with multiple journalists. During the press conference, White addressed the incident involving Marc Goddard in a different promotion. This led to White talking about the altercation during UFC on ESPN 14 between referee Herb Dean and color commentator Dan Hardy. Hardy yelled at Dean for stopping the fight between Trinaldo and Herbert a little too late. He was then caught on camera arguing with Herb Dean.
When White was asked about the two incidents, he replied that anyone on his staff who approaches a judge, referee, or any other official will be fired on the spot. The UFC boss didn’t give any indication about possible sanctions for Hardy.
“If you work for me, and you approach a judge or a referee or any type of official, I will fire you.” White said, “You will never work for me again if you do that.”
Dana White made himself very clear on this matter and reaffirmed that the integrity of the judges and referees is a priority of the company.
“Listen, you want to criticize judges, you want to criticize referees, you didn’t agree with a decision or things like that. Dan (Hardy) got emotional”.
White hinted at the fact that the current setup with no fans made these types of incidents occur more easily.
When asked if he had spoken to Hardy about the matter, White replied.
“I’m talking to him right now, I’m talking to everybody”, Hinting that this was indeed a warning to Hardy.
