White on Nelson kicking ref: ‘He needs to be buried’

UFC president Dana White didn’t hide his distaste for Roy Nelson’s actions at last weekend’s event in Brasilia.

UFC president Dana White and heavyweight Roy Nelson have never had the best of working relationships, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Dana is pissed off at him. After all, Nelson did kick referee John McCarthy after what he felt was a late stoppage in his bout with Antonio Silva at a Fight Night event in Brasilia last weekend. For his part, White doesn’t think Nelson’s subsequent explanation and apology mean anything, and he stated as much on the UFC Unfiltered podcast recently (transcribed by MMA Fighting):

“You can’t apologize for that,” White said. “You don’t ever, ever put your f**king hands on a referee, or your feet, for any reason whatso f**king ever. You don’t do it. He needs to be buried. He went over there and he put his foot on his ass to like push him over, you know what I mean? Was flipping him off, yelling whatever. You wanna flip a ref off, there is never, ever a situation where you put your f**king hands on a referee. Ever. You can’t apologize for that.”

…

“I’ve been traveling since the fight so I haven’t seen what’s going on, but if the Brazilian athletic commission doesn’t reign on him, man, it’s not good.”

A Brazilian representative of the UFC has already stated that the promotion won’t punish Nelson for his actions, though the Brazilian commission (CABMMA) could go after him if McCarthy files a complaint. Regardless, White still feels very strongly about the issue:

“This guy is the f**king judge of when a fight should or shouldn’t be stopped? You’re a fighter, you go until the referee tells you to stop. John McCarthy is very qualified in what he does, he’s been here a lot longer than f**king Roy Nelson has been. And for Roy Nelson to go over and put his f**king hands on a referee, it can’t happen. It can never happen. But John is sitting there in his knees, tending to Bigfoot, and you come up behind him and f**king kick him? It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it can never f**king happen, ever again.”

UFC president Dana White didn’t hide his distaste for Roy Nelson’s actions at last weekend’s event in Brasilia.

UFC president Dana White and heavyweight Roy Nelson have never had the best of working relationships, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Dana is pissed off at him. After all, Nelson did kick referee John McCarthy after what he felt was a late stoppage in his bout with Antonio Silva at a Fight Night event in Brasilia last weekend. For his part, White doesn’t think Nelson’s subsequent explanation and apology mean anything, and he stated as much on the UFC Unfiltered podcast recently (transcribed by MMA Fighting):

“You can’t apologize for that,” White said. “You don’t ever, ever put your f**king hands on a referee, or your feet, for any reason whatso f**king ever. You don’t do it. He needs to be buried. He went over there and he put his foot on his ass to like push him over, you know what I mean? Was flipping him off, yelling whatever. You wanna flip a ref off, there is never, ever a situation where you put your f**king hands on a referee. Ever. You can’t apologize for that.”

…

“I’ve been traveling since the fight so I haven’t seen what’s going on, but if the Brazilian athletic commission doesn’t reign on him, man, it’s not good.”

A Brazilian representative of the UFC has already stated that the promotion won’t punish Nelson for his actions, though the Brazilian commission (CABMMA) could go after him if McCarthy files a complaint. Regardless, White still feels very strongly about the issue:

“This guy is the f**king judge of when a fight should or shouldn’t be stopped? You’re a fighter, you go until the referee tells you to stop. John McCarthy is very qualified in what he does, he’s been here a lot longer than f**king Roy Nelson has been. And for Roy Nelson to go over and put his f**king hands on a referee, it can’t happen. It can never happen. But John is sitting there in his knees, tending to Bigfoot, and you come up behind him and f**king kick him? It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it can never f**king happen, ever again.”