NEWARK, N.J. – Dana White doesn’t want to see judge Dave Tirelli anywhere near a big fight again.
The UFC CEO was flabbergasted that Tirelli scored Saturday’s UFC 302 co-main event in favor of Paulo Costa (14-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who lost a split decision to Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) at Prudential Center.
Tirelli also had an odd scorecard for the opening fight of the night between Andre Lima and Mitch Raposo. Tirelli had it 29-28 Raposo, while the other two judges scored it 30-27 for Lima. White thought Strickland clearly beat Costa.
“It wasn’t weird – it was f*cking nuts is what it was,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters during the post-fight news conference. “It’s insane. That guy should never (judge) a big fight again. They should kick him back down to the minor leagues and let him work on his judging.
“It’s unbelievable. How anybody who isn’t an absolute f*cking lunatic could call that fight a split decision … I don’t even know what to say about that. It’s insane. That guy shouldn’t be judging big fights.”
Strickland insists on fighting for the title next after rebounding against Costa. White was impressed with the former champion’s performance.
“It’s not the fight I expected,” White said. “Every time you see Paulo Costa in a fight, it’s a war. He usually goes to war, but you could tell tonight, he couldn’t get off. Brilliant kicking that leg the way he did. Strickland is tough as hell. He was eating those leg kicks all night.
“I’m wondering how he’s walking, because I haven’t heard anything but he did some big damage to that front leg. I thought (Strickland) fought a beautiful, perfect fight. He’s a very awkward guy to fight and how he throws those teep kicks and his hands are so good, he’s very elusive and beautiful jab, and he basically picked Costa apart and shut him down.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
