Dana White criticizes UFC 246 officials Jason Herzog, Mark Smith – but admits refs have tough job

LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White was buzzing following the conclusion of UFC 246.

One thing he wasn’t thrilled by however, was the officiating throughout the night. In particular, White took exception with the way two bouts were officiated.

The first fight White addressed in his post-fight news conference was the lackluster co-main event between Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington. White said he liked referee Jason Herzog, but wasn’t happy with his unwillingness to separate the fighters against the cage.

“(Herzog) let them clinch for four minutes for three (expletive) rounds and they fought for a minute,” White said. “That was a problem, too. That drove me crazy. If you are not doing damage or advancing position, you split the fighters up and make them actually fight. And I like this guy. I don’t want to bum this guy out or whatever, but he’s running around the Octagon. Like, what (expletive) fight is he watching? He’s moving around like he’s trying to stay out of the way like there’s a (expletive) war going on or something. These guys are leaning up against the fence for four minutes. Are you (expletive) me right now?

“I literally almost got up and walked out of that fight. I was so frustrated. Anyways, I’ve (expletive) on enough referees in my day. That guy seems like a nice guy. I’m too old to (expletive) be doing this (expletive) any more and tearing these guys apart. He’s a nice guy and I don’t mean to whatever. You saw the fight. You know what I’m talking about.”

In White’s eyes, referee Mark Smith’s stoppage in the prelim bout between Drew Dober and Nasrat Haqparast was also problematic. Haqparast absorbed 12 unanswered punches before Smith stepped in.

“The Dober fight, he got hit with like 12 unanswered shots,” White said. “The reffing wasn’t 100 percent tonight. That’s a fact.”

While some viewers voiced their displeasure with referee Herb Dean’s “late” stoppage in the main event between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone, the UFC president wasn’t necessarily on board. White admitted referees have a tough job and will never be perfect.

“I don’t know if the Cerrone stoppage was horrible, though,” White said. “I don’t know if I’d say that. At the end of the day, the reality is we’re not in there. We’re not the refs. I wish it could be perfect, but it’s never going to be perfect. It’s never going to be perfect in football, basketball, or any other sport. It’s never going to be perfect here.

“I think it’s probably one of the toughest jobs in all of sports. Everybody is an expert. Everybody is a critic. Everybody wants to rip you apart after they don’t like the way you did it. As long as nobody gets hurt. Never once did I look at the (Cerrone) fight and go, ‘They should have stopped that sooner,’ like I did for the Dober fight.”

UFC 246 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.