UFC pays Drew Dober his win money; Dana White stumps for no-contest

Leandro Silva and Drew Dober

RIO DE JANEIRO – The abysmal referee call that led to a submission win for Leandro Silva (18-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 62 led UFC President Dana White to award Drew Dober (15-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) his show and win money.

White said after tonight’s event that he hopes the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) overturns the official result and declares the fight a no contest.

“I know how athletic commissions are, and they like to protect their own, but everybody in this room and everybody on this planet knows that was bullsh-t,” White said at the post-event press conference, which took place at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanazinho Gymnasium.

White, the crowd at Maracanazinho Gymnasium, and fans who watched the bout on FOX Sports 2 watched as Silva was declared the winner by guillotine choke submission. The only problem was, Dober hadn’t tapped out and was actually in the process of changing position when referee Eduardo Herdy, who earlier in the night waited for two tapouts when Christos Giagos submitted Jorge de Oliveira, tested his arm and suddenly stopped the bout.

“The UFC can’t do anything, but it was horrible, It was ridiculous that anybody would think that was a tap,” White said when asked what the promotion could potentially do about the stoppage.

Of course, the UFC is regulated by CABMMA when it holds events in Brazil. MMAjunkie wasn’t immediately able to reach the commission for comment on the situation.

White, however, made his feelings clear.

“That thing should be overturned and it should be a no contest,” he said. “We’re going to pay the kid his win money. He was actually just slipping out of it and he was in top position.”

The loss brought Dober to 1-3 overall in the UFC’s octagon, with his lone win a first-round submission of ex-WEC champ Jamie Varner at this past December’s UFC on FOX 13.

Silva, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 in the promotion and has won back-to-back fights. In the cage after the stoppage, the Brazilian claimed his stoppage win was legitimate, saying Dober submitted to his guillotine choke.

Reaction to the outcome online was immediate, with White tweeting that Herdy should never again referee in the UFC.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 62, check out the UFC Events section of the site.