While Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar beat each other up over five rounds at UFC Fight Island 7, UFC President Dana White feared the worst.
In a new video released on the official YouTube promotion channel, White was concerned about the damage Kattar suffered when the fight entered deep water, at one point asking referee Herb Dean to intervene and stop the punishment.
Away from the cage for an aside with UFC EVP Hunter Campbell, White said of Kattar: “He took so many punishments in this fight, I’m freaking out a little bit, man. I do not know. I do not like this
“It reminds me of the kind of fight that the fight ends, and he walks back and fucking dies. I think that damn Herb Dean should have stopped in the fourth round. He was staggering everywhere. He should have stopped the fight right there. “
The new video, “UFC’s Grand New Stage”, starts initially as a promo for the new Etihad Arena, which was built for the UFC to host events on Ilha da Luta. But things quickly take a serious turn as the main attraction between Holloway and Kattar begins. The event, broadcast in part by ABC, marked the UFC’s return to the TV network since the end of a long-standing partnership with FOX.
White, flanked by Din Thomas and Matt Serra, his co-hosts on “Dana White Lookin ‘for a Fight”, is at first impressed by the featherweight performances. But as the fight goes to the third round, his tone changes.
“I don’t know how much more f * cking damage I want to see Kattar suffer, man,” White told Thomas and Serra.
As Holloway begins to advance and hits more devastating attacks on Kattar, White’s face shows serious concern. A flood at the end of the round leads him to shout, “Come in, ref. Let’s ref. He’s staggering. He’s on his feet. Come on. Ref, stop this fight. “
The referee, veteran official Dean, keeps an eye on the fighters. But the action continues, and with it White’s stress increases. As the fifth and final round unfolds, Holloway is increasingly in control of the cruise, avoiding punches to declare his dominance impressive to UFC commentators. White adds, “This shitty round can’t end quickly enough for me.”
In exchanges that seem to take place just before the end of the fight, the UFC executive cornered the arena’s employees and reported the urgency of the situation.
“When this fight is over, without stopping, without speaking,” he said. “Put this kid in an ambulance and get him out of here immediately. I want him out of here. Don’t talk to anyone and go straight to the fucking hospital. “
White then talks to former UFC champion and commentator Daniel Cormier.
“I’m a little concerned about these two – it should have been stopped in the fourth round,” he said.
Kattar was actually kicked out of the arena and did not appear at the post-event press conference. In a statement released later, he praised Holloway and his coaches for keeping him in the fight; online critics immediately focused on Dean and his songs for not throwing in the towel.
“Supports for Max in a hellish fight, he deserves all the praise,” wrote Kattar. “I am grateful for my team’s commitment to this fight. To the next. There is no stopping the man who does not give up. “
Kattar later received a 180-day probation, which was suspended with the release of a doctor because of a nose injury, in addition to a 60-day 45-day no-contact period.
The brutal fight came three days after White made a shocking statement about the likelihood that more fighters would suffer brain trauma as a result of their time in the cage. His comments were in response to a recent MMA Fighting profile on Spencer Fisher’s struggles with symptoms of symptoms consistent with CTE.