UFC president Dana White has hit out at referee Al Guinee for his late stoppage in the Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill fight at UFC 263.
The light heavyweight bout opened last weekend’s pay-per-view main card. The matchup was highly anticipated after the pair’s confrontations during fight week.
Aside from a fiery face-off that forced White and the security to pull the men apart, Craig and Hill exchanged words inside the hotel a few days before they met inside the Octagon.
When they did finally meet inside the Gila River Arena, the bout lasted just under two minutes and saw the underdog with his arm raised following a brutal finish.
Viewer discretion is certainly advised for this one…
In something of a PPV trend since the UFC hit the 260’s, it appeared Hill had suffered a horrendous broken arm after ‘Bearjew’ locked in a tight armbar.
The snap was visible and the flopping of Hill’s left arm, which Craig described as “like a wet fish dancing all over my body,” made it clear that the fight was over. That apparently wasn’t the case for Al Guinee.
The late stoppage, which drew criticism from fans and fighters alike, was slammed by Dana White during the UFC 263 post-fight press conference.
“When an arm is flopping around like this and going both ways, you should probably stop the fight,” White said (via MMA Fighting). “I don’t want to sh*t on Arizona, they’ve been so good to us. But that’s a rough one. I heard this guy’s a jiu-jitsu black belt.”
After being told that Guinee had a reputation for making bad calls, White jokingly compared him to a former UFC referee.
“Arizona Mazzagatti…It makes sense then.”
Aside from the talk of the horrendous stoppage, White did have some positive news on Hill’s condition. The UFC president revealed that “Sweet Dreams” had remarkably not suffered a break.
Hill had actually dislocated his elbow which, although just as gruesome-looking, isn’t as serious.
“They popped it back it in and the guy has full range of motion,” White revealed. “That’s nuts.”
What did you make of Al Guinee’s stoppage?
