Dana White Spotted Watching Canelo Fight After 'Zoning Out Halfway Through' UFC 274 Bout
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UFC president Dana White admitted he "zoned out" of the co-main event between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza, and was pictured watching Canelo Alvarez's shock defeat to Dmitry Bivol during the UFC 274 bout.
Russian champion Bivol produced the fight of his career to beat Alvarez by unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 115-113) and retain the WBA (super) light heavyweight title.
Esparza, meanwhile, reclaimed the strawweight title with a split decision win over Namajunas, seven years after becoming the first women's strawweight champion in UFC history.
Carla Esparza upsets Rose Namajunas in one of the worst @ufc title fight in history. The former Champ was just bouncing around inside the OCTAGON without engaging her challenger. I am disappointed in @rosenamajunas #UFC274 pic.twitter.com/MXDdNyJVA7
— Taiwo Francis (@IAmTaiwoFrancis) May 8, 2022
Rose Namajunas leaves the cage after her 5 round loss to Carla Esparza at #UFC274 pic.twitter.com/tsSdTAfOjP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 8, 2022
It wasn't the most entertaining of co-main events. In fact, Esparza and Namajunas landed a combined 68 strikes in 25 minutes on Saturday night.
To put that into perspective, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje nearly matched that total in a little over three minutes.
And it appears Dana White was far from thrilled with the action inside the octagon.
Carla Esparza nd Rose Namajunas rn 😭 nobody is doing anything #UFC274 pic.twitter.com/PGCko92jdU
— TheBestJesusChrist (@BestJesus415) May 8, 2022
Twitter user @CxrbinT posted a picture of the UFC president alongside the caption: "Dana White is cage side watching the Canelo [Alvarez] fight and hasn't even looked up at the octagon once…"
He went on to post an update of White's location, saying: "Canelo lost and I haven’t seen Dana since."
Dana white is cage side watching the Canelo fight and hasnt even looked up at the octagon once… pic.twitter.com/6zJKAbdevs
— CORBiN (@CxrbinT) May 8, 2022
In a press conference after the UFC 274 event, a far-from-impressed White was asked about his thoughts on the co-main event between Namajunas and Esparza. He didn't hold back.
"It was a weird fight, it seemed like they didn't want to engage," the 52-year-old told reporters. "I think there was a total of six punches in the first round; it's a tough one but it happens sometimes.
"I started zoning out halfway through it, so I don't know [who won]... I don't think anyone is clamouring for that rematch so we'll have to think of something else.
"Rose is one of the best. She’s always gonna be there. We’ll see what happens.”
Imagine Dana White saying he zoned out halfway through your match. Embarrassing to say the least. #UFC274
— ♎️ (@KeniaaDiazz) May 8, 2022
In her post-fight press conference, Namajunas admits she was convinced she had done enough to beat Esparza during the fight.
“I felt like as if I landed the more shots," Namajunas said. "I even took her down. None of her takedowns were significant, or any control time. She hit me with, I’d say, one good punch.
“I felt like I did the damage. I controlled the fight. I stuck to the strategy, and she didn’t really have any offense. She was whiffing at air the whole time. I thought I won.”
Thoughts on the bout?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: @CxrbinT/Twitter - UFC
Topics: UFC, Dana White
