UFC 259: Dana White labels judges' scoring a 'big problem' after Israel Adesanya loss

Dana White labels judges’ scoring a ‘big problem’ as UFC supremo hits out at wide margin of victory awarded to Jan Blachowicz over Israel Adesanya at UFC 259

  • Dana White has hit out at judges’ scoring following Israel Adesanya’s defeat 
  • Jan Blachowicz earned a unanimous decision win, scored 49-45, 49-45, 49-46 
  • White agreed with the outcome of the fight but disputed the wide margin
  • It is not the first time the UFC chief has taken aim at the judges’ scorecards 

Dana White has once again slammed the judges’ scorecards as the UFC supremo hit out at the wide margin of scoring from UFC 259’s main event between Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz. 

Adesanya fell short in his tilt at the light heavyweight title in Las Vegas, with Polish veteran Blachowicz proving a technical challenge for the all-conquering middleweight king.

The five-round scheduled contest went the distance and the 38-year-old was awarded a unanimous points victory by the octagon-side judges, who scored the contest 49-45, 49-45 and 49-46 in the Pole’s favour.

Dana White has hit out at the judges' scorecards once more following Israel Adesanya's defeat

Dana White has hit out at the judges’ scorecards once more following Israel Adesanya’s defeat

The middleweight king failed in his bid to capture a second title, losing to Jan Blachowicz

The middleweight king failed in his bid to capture a second title, losing to Jan Blachowicz

And while White did not dispute the outcome of the light heavyweight title bout, the UFC chief was critical of the margin of victory that the judges’ felt Blachowicz won by.  

‘I think we can all agree, that fight wasn’t 4-1,’ White said in the post-fight press conference via Low Kick MMA.

‘If anyone watched that fight and thought that was 4-1 you’re nuts, it was even going into the last round and Israel was winning the first half of the round, and then Jan took him down and won the fight in the second half of the round.

The judges unanimously scored the fight the Pole's way scoring the fight 49-45, 49-45, 49-46

The judges unanimously scored the fight the Pole’s way scoring the fight 49-45, 49-45, 49-46

White did not dispute the outcome but called into question the wide margin of scoring

‘The only thing that makes that fight 4-1 are ridiculous 10-8 rounds, It’s a big problem with judging that needs to be fixed.’  

It is not the first time White has taken aim at the judges’ scorecard. Last year, the 51-year-old was furious with the judges’ decision to award Alexander Volkanovski a split decision victory over Max Holloway at UFC 251.

‘You can’t leave it to these guys. We’ve got some bad judging,’ he told reporters.

‘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. Looks like we’ve got to tighten up our refs and judges here on Fight Island.’

The UFC chief took aim at judges last year following Max Holloway's loss to Alex Volkanovski

The UFC chief took aim at judges last year following Max Holloway’s loss to Alex Volkanovski

source: dailymail.co.uk