Dana White on Max Holloway vs. Alex Volkanovksi 2: “We have some bad judging”

UFC president Dana White slammed the judges at UFC 251 for their scorecards in the co-main event between Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway.

Volkanovski and Holloway met in a rematch after their first fight last December at UFC 245, where Volkanovski won a unanimous decision to capture the featherweight title in an upset. The rematch at UFC 251 went different, as Holloway was able to make the necessary adjustments and fight a far more competitive battle. Although many fans, media, and fighters though Holloway won the fight, the judges ended up giving it to Volkanovski, who retained the belt with scores of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47.

Following the event, the media asked White what he thought about the scorecards in the co-main event of the evening. Here’s what he said (via BloodyElbow.com).

“You can’t leave it to these guys. We’ve got some bad judging. I’m sure (Holloway) is devastated. Did anybody here score it for Volkanovski? Anybody? Nobody in the media? I don’t know. We’ll have to figure it out,” White said.

This is certainly not the first time that White has been critical of the judges, as he’s often torn them to shreds following the event. It’s certainly not a good feeling for White when he sees someone like Holloway appear to do enough to win the fight, yet get hurt by the judges once the fight hits the scorecards. Judging has been a problem in this sport for years, and Saturday night was certainly no exception to that.

Not only was Dana White upset at the judges in the Volkanovski vs. Holloway fight, but he was also angry with referee Leon Roberts, who let Jose Aldo take far too much punishment in the bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan.

“Looks like we’ve got to tighten up our refs and judges here on Fight Island,” White said.

White and the UFC are set to hold three more events on Fight Island over the next two weeks, but before those events happen, hopefully, the promotion can tighten up its officials. Unlike domestic events back home in places like Las Vegas where the athletic commission determines the judges, in the cases of some international events like this one, the UFC actually does have a saw in who judges and referees the fights. Hopefully, the UFC can figure it out and bring in some better officials for the next event.

Who do you think won the decision, Alex Volkanovski or Max Holloway?