After Mayweather-Ortiz debacle, White says UFC on FOX 1 officiating is key

After Mayweather-Ortiz debacle, White says UFC on FOX 1 officiating is key

by Steven Marrocco on Sep 20, 2011 at 8:30 pm ET
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Of the million things that concern UFC president Dana White in putting the best foot forward with UFC on FOX 1, the quality of the officiating is up there at the top.

White needs to look no further than the debacle of this past Saturday's mega-fight between boxers Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz to put his nerves on edge.

"I don't care who they put in there as long as he doesn't blow a multi-million-dollar fight and a huge opportunity for the sport," White today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

An animated White launched into a minutes-long tirade on officiating when asked about Mayweather vs. Ortiz, which ended when Mayweather clocked Ortiz with a legal blow after a break in action due to a headbutt from Ortiz.

Although many called Mayweather's punch a cheap shot, there were questions raised by referee Joe Cortez's handling of the foul and subsequent restart of the fight.

White, for one, blasted the veteran referee's call that night.

"Cortez blew a multi-million-dollar fight," he said.

The UFC executive made it clear that the controversy wasn't another black eye for boxing as a sport – he's a longtime fan and managed boxers before moving into MMA – but said it was another example of how poor officiating is harming all combat sports.

"The officiating has been horrendous in mixed martial arts," White said. "Let me start it off by saying this: I laid some money on Ortiz. And I'll tell you, Ortiz started headbutting him from the first round, right? (He was) rubbing his head in [Mayweather's] face from the first round on then the most intentional headbutt you'll ever see, and the dirtiest thing you can do in boxing is headbutt another guy.

"He headbutts him then the referee doesn't send the guys to a neutral corner, (and) actually lets – after [Ortiz] headbutts Mayweather in the face – let's [Ortiz] approach him and hug him ... like that's the last thing Mayweather wants is [Ortiz] in his face after he just headbutted him. Then, again, doesn't send the guy to a neutral corner, (and) everything's in chaos and confusion.

"[Cortez] doesn't even know (that with) an intentional foul, you take two points, not one. What you're supposed to do is send a guy to the neutral corner. You have the doctor come in and check Mayweather to see if he's OK to continue, and let's assume he is – Mayweather says, 'Yes, I can continue,' (and) the doctor says yes. So the ref goes to the center of the ring and says, 'I'm taking two points,' then he walks to Ortiz and says, 'That's two points. If you do it again, you're going to be disqualified.' Then go back to the center of the ring and say, 'Let's fight.' He didn't do any of that.

"So then after the [foul], he says, 'Let's go. Let's go.' I guess he said it three times. And Ortiz comes to hug him again after he's already said sorry 50 times, and Floyd hit him when the fight was on."

Perhaps surprisingly, White placed no blame on the one-two that Mayweather used to stop Ortiz. The two have frequently traded jabs in the press about boxing vs. MMA, and White has issued an open challenge for Mayweather to try his fortune in the octagon. The outspoken Mayweather, who's widely considered to be one of the best boxers alive, hasn't bitten.

"It's easy to hate Floyd Mayweather," White said. "Everybody wants to hate him. First of all, Ortiz was dirty in what he did. Nothing dirtier than a headbutt, and everybody in boxing knows that. That fight should have been able to go on. A ref is in there to make sure that stuff like that doesn't happen.

"Mayweather was strangling him at the weigh-ins, and nobody stepped in and did anything. So this thing started way before officiating was the reason this whole thing went the way that it did."

And that's why White is worried that things could go south at UFC on FOX 1, which takes place Nov. 12 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. With stakes high as the UFC's first live network-TV event, it's imperative that its headliner, a heavyweight title fight between champ Cain Velasquez (9-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Junior Dos Santos (13-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), goes off without a hitch.

"This would be a great opportunity for me to step up on the soapbox and go, 'Boxing shot itself in the foot again, and look what these guys did!'" White said. "It had nothing to do with boxing, had nothing to do with the sport of boxing. It had to do with the officiating that night. And let me tell you what: Think about my position now. I'm about to go on FOX on Nov. 12 for our first big MMA event on free TV. I don't want some referee that doesn't know what he's doing blowing my big night on FOX."

So who's going to call Velasquez and Dos Santos?

White said he didn't know, and the decision hasn't yet been made official. The California State Athletic Commission, which oversees the Nov. 12 event, won't make referee assignments for another two to three weeks, according to CSAC Executive Director George Dodd.

"I hope it's Herb Dean," White said. "I think Herb Dean's the best referee in the business. Now I won't get Herb Dean because I said that."

So for now, White will cross his fingers until the CSAC makes the call.