UFC President Dana White didn’t actually score the UFC 282 main event, because he said he tuned out after watching a less-than-thrilling affair between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.
The five-round fight was ultimately scored a split draw, which means the UFC light heavyweight title remains vacant after former champion Jiri Prochazka relinquished the belt due to a devastating shoulder injury that prevented him from competing on Saturday.
Reacting to the main event at the UFC 282 post-fight press conference, White didn’t have much complimentary to say to either Blachowicz or Ankalaev – and the same went for the way the bout ultimately ended.
“I don’t even know,” White said when asked how he scored the fight. “I started to zone out after like f****** three rounds.”
Ankalaev was distraught after the decision was read in the cage and said “I don’t know if I’m going to fight for this organization again.” He later added he might return to “take what’s ours,” but it appeared another immediate shot at the title wasn’t in his immediate future.
White heard about Ankalaev’s discontent toward the decision and didn’t understand why there was so much surprise with the split draw.
“I heard Ankalaev is upset or whatever,” White said. “What do you want me to do? You got beat up the first two rounds. You took him to the ground. What are you going to do?”
More than anything, though, White’s anger toward the main event wasn’t necessarily about the result but rather the performances from Ankalaev and Blachowicz. That’s what ultimately led to him making the call to book Glover Teixeira against Jamahal Hill at UFC 283 in Brazil with the vacant light heavyweight title going up for grabs.
“What are you going to do?” White said. “I thought the main event was terrible. What are you going to do? You do Glover vs. Jamahal Hill in Brazil for the vacant title. Done.”
It remains to be seen what comes next for Blachowicz or Ankalaev, though a rematch could still happen — it just seems wildly unlikely that a title will be on the line.