Dana White has strongly criticized Mike Bell for his 10-8 scorecard in the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 bout at UFC Noche during Mexican Independence Day.
The fight ultimately resulted in a split draw, with Bell's scorecard of 47-47 failing to determine a clear winner, as the other two judges scored it 48-47 for each fighter. Shevchenko expressed her dissatisfaction with the outcome and hinted at a potential appeal. Consequently, the Nevada State Athletic Commission scheduled a meeting on September 20th, 2023, to establish guidelines for scoring a 10-8 round. However, the lack of a requirement for judges to provide explanations for their scoring decisions has complicated matters in holding officials accountable. In response, Dana White voiced his perspective on the situation.
“When I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8, I’m like, this guy should be f****** investigated for this. This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever seen in my life….In title [fights] — there’s so much at stake in a title fight…For that to be a 10-8 round, there is no excuse for that. There is no excuse for that 10-8.
“Unfortunately, you’ll probably never have the opportunity to have him sitting somewhere like this and ask him that question, because only he knows the answer to that question. Valentina gets dropped in [Round 2] — that’s not a 10-8 but the fifth round is a 10-8? It literally makes no sense. I get it, why the athletic commission wouldn’t want to put their guys out in front of the media and deal with the fans and all the bulls***,” White said
In light of this controversy, White has advocated for an immediate rematch to settle the dispute. “You have to rematch. You have to do the rematch. We will rematch them. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the fight that needs to happen,” White
These sentiments were also echoed by Shevchenko, who expressed her desire for the rematch to take place in her home country of Kyrgyzstan. However, the likelihood of such a rematch occurring in the near future appears slim. Shevchenko has revealed that she injured her thumb during the fight, despite managing to complete it. As a result, the "Bullet" will be sidelined for three months before she can resume any form of training.
Yesterday got the results on my 1 st round hand injury.
— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) September 19, 2023
Comminuted fracture that requires surgery 💪💪💪