D. White at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC
Absent from official weigh-ins for the UFC Las Vegas 24, held last Friday (16), Dana White was not happy with the performance of his replacement, Sean Shelby, at the event. Angered by the incident that led to the cancellation of the co-main fight, the agent shot at the employee, who allowed a Jeremy Stephens push on Drakkar Klose. After the action, Klose ended up getting injured and left the show.
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“There is a rule. That's why we're there. Sean Shelby failed on this one. He and I see things differently. I saw what happened on social media and called him immediately. (…) I said: 'What was going through your head? He (Stephens) was nervous and was the Jeremy Stephens. He’s a savage,” said White, in an interview with TSN.
Mainly responsible for mediating the confrontations between the athletes, Dana went further in criticizing Sean. For the agent, what happened is unacceptable within Ultimate, which reinforced dissatisfaction with the employee's stance.
“We are not there to look good in the photos. We are there to stop these types of things from happening,” she said.
The confrontation between Jeremy and Klose would mark the co-main fight of the night. Hours before the event, however, Drakkar used social media to confirm his absence from the show. According to the light weight (up to 70,3kg), his body did not respond well to the situation. The athlete admitted to having suffered from numbness in his hands and pain in his neck and, after being evaluated by Ultimate's doctors, he ended up, by consensus, agreeing to be removed from the event.
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