“What the **** was that guy waiting for?!”
UFC president Dana White was livid after the referee in the bantamweight fight between Drew Dober and Nasrat Haqparast, at UFC 246, dithered before eventually stopping the fight.
In the opening bout on the Preliminary Card, broadcast live on ESPN, Dober dropped his opponent with a left hook before closing in to finish off the job.
At 3:56 in the first round, UFC commentator Joe Rogan declared, ‘That’s it!’ as Dober dropped down and connected with another big punch. Six seconds and nine more punches later, referee Mark Smith eventually jumped in, declaring, “He’s out. He’s out!”
Drew Dober's KO victory over Nasrat Haqparast should've been stopped earlier, says Dana White pic.twitter.com/zk61cJHbr4
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 19, 2020
White was watching the fight back-stage with reporter Laura Sanko and, as shown on his Instagram Stories, he was incensed that the fight was not stopped earlier.
As the replays rolled, White noted how Dober had connected 11 more times after the initial knock-down. “I hate when this happens with the f***ing referees,” he declared.
In the post-fight press conference, White confirmed a performance bonus of $50,000 for Dober before going on to criticise the late stoppage. He also had words for Jason Herzog, the referee for Holly Holm’s decision win over Raquel Pennington.
“I’ve said to to Raquel before that she’s got good hands but she should let them go. That’s not to mention that the ref let them clinch for four minutes, for three f***ing rounds. They fought for a minute [each round]. That was a problem too. Driving me crazy, man.
“If you are not doing damage or advancing your position, you split the fighters up and make them actually fight.”
White claimed Herzog was running ‘around the place like there’s a f***ing war going on or something’ and allowed Holm and Pennington to clinch against the fence for too long.
“I literally almost got up and walked out of that fight. I was so frustrated.”
