Dana White goes off on Mike Bell for 10-8 scorecard: 'He should be f*cking investigated ' (VIDEO)
By Amy Kaplan
On Saturday night, Sept. 16, in the main event of the UFC's first-ever Noche UFC card, a judge's incorrect 10-8 score in the fifth round led to a majority draw for the rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.
That scorecard has led fighters, fans and now UFC president and CEO, Dana White to blast Mike Bell for his mistake.
“I was on vacation when this thing happened,” White said during the DWCS week 7 post-fight presser. “When I found out one of the judges scored it 10-8, this guy should be f*cking investigated for this. This is the craziest sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life."
He continued, “As I was talking to people, there’s a seminar tomorrow with the athletic commission on 10-8’s. Especially with a title fight, there’s so much at stake in a title fight. It’s more than just money, show and win, pay-per-view, championships and legacies. It’s just you have to have the best of the best in title fights. They’ve assured me this guy isn’t a bad guy. He just fucked up and made a mistake. It’s unfortunate. There’s no way in hell that was a 10-8 round.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is holding a special training session for judges in light of the controversy in an attempt to lessen mistakes like these in the future.
The good news in all this is that, due to the draw we'll see a thrid fight between these women and if it's even half as good as this last one, we're in for a treat.
“You have to do the rematch,” White said. “We will rematch them. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the fight that needs to happen, and yeah.”
Valentina Shevchenko thinks Mike Bell is 'going to live with that mistake forever'
White wasn't the only one to go after the veteran judge. The woman at the heart of the controversy also had some choice words for Bell.
“Emotions. As I said on Saturday, it’s kind of double. For one part, I’m very proud of what I did inside of the octagon,” Shevchenko said on The MMA Hour. “I do know exactly three rounds, for certain, from the fight were my rounds. I won those rounds. From the other side, a few things in the side were completely unfair. Definitely the scorecard in the final round, 10-8. Mike Bell, he did some inexplicable things and I think the whole world would love to hear an explanation. But from the other side, it’s not me. He is going to live with that mistake forever.”