The biggest controversy to come out of last night’s UFC Fight Night 62 in Brazil came on the preliminary card during the lightweight bout between Leandro Silva and Drew Dober.
In the second round of the fight, Silva went for a guillotine choke and looked for the finish on the ground.
As Dober was defending the choke and just as he slipped out of the hold, referee Eduardo Herdy stopped the fight to declare Silva the winner by submission.
Twitter immediately reacted to the controversy and Herdy, who is apparently a jiu-jitsu black belt. He was immediately labeled as one of the worse referees to officiate a UFC fight.
Following the event, UFC President Dana White was asked about the situation and what the promotion could do to correct what happened. White explained that this is a commission issue and the promotion will pay Dober his win bonus for the fight.
“The UFC can not do anything,” White said during the post fight press conference. “It was horrible. It was ridiculous that anybody would think that was a tap is insane. I personally think and I am going to let my guys who handle that stuff. That should be over turned and that should be a no-contest. We are going to pay that kid his win money, but that referee was so bad. Anybody that follows the sport and knows that guy was not in any danger right there. He was actually just slipping out of it and was in top position where he could have done damage and possibly finish the fight and this guy calls it.”
“I am hoping and I know how athletic commissions are and I know they back up their own. This is the decision that the referee made and that is the decision. Everybody in this room and everyone on this planet knows that was bulls–t. Hopefully, that can be overturned into a no-contest and we do it fair. Nothing against the kid who won, it’s not his fault. He did not make the call. He wins the fight and he is happy but that was bulls–t and that needs to be fixed.”
Dober (15-7) entered this fight following a submission victory over Jamie Varner in December and it was his first victory in the promotion. At this time, his fight against Silva is officially a defeat and he now has a record of 1-3 in the UFC. He released a short statement on Twitter about what happened last night and is thankful for all of the support he has received since the fight ended.
“I gave it my all and was eager to get the momentum moving, but then the referee stepped in,” Dober tweeted. “I’m sorry Rio and UFC. Thank you UFC, Dana White for taking care of me and giving me this opportunity. I appreciate all the love and support I’m getting from people. Putting on great fights for the fans is all I ever want to do.”
Dober can appeal the result of the fight to the Brazilian commission in hopes of getting the fight overturned. As White stated during the post fight press conference, commissions tend to stick behind their referees decision and it may be unlikely that the result of the fight is changed.