Dana White step-in details conversation he had with Jason Herzog following controversial UFC Abu Dhabi moment

UFC referee Jason Herzog came under intense scrutiny for his officiating during a prelim fight on Saturday night at UFC Abu Dhabi.

The premier promotion returned to the Middle East on Saturday for another iteration of UFC Abu Dhabi, headlined by a middleweight contender fight between Robert Whittaker and Reinier De Ridder.

But it was just the second fight into the event which was covered in controversy as Mohammad Yahya and Steven Nguyen clashed in a featherweight fight.

The fight was one-way traffic as the Dana White’s Contender Series alum, Nguyen, dominated his opponent and scored a record-breaking eight knockdowns in the fight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Dana White step-in details conversation with Jason Herzog

The only reason Yahya made it out of round one is because he was saved by the bell, but that didn’t stop him from coming out all guns blazing in round two.

The 31-year-old went on to suffer a brutal eye injury as a lump the size of a tennis ball grew underneath his eye, swelling his eye shut.

And the extent of his injury was so bad that veteran referee Jason Herzog called the fight at the end of round two, however, he came under intense criticism for not stopping the fight sooner considering Yahya suffered eight knockdowns.

UFC boss Dana White wasn’t in attendance for the event, however, UFC executive Dave Shaw took some questions from the media following the event, and spoke about the situation involving Herzog.

“It’s interesting, we talked to Herzog after and he was commenting that there were moments in the fight where Yahya looked like he was right back in it,” Shaw said at the post-fight press conference.

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“So he’d get knocked down, he’d get knocked down quickly, I think there were maybe five in the first round, maybe two more in the second and then I think how rapidly his eye changed and got swollen.

“I mean, what do I think? I think definitely there was a solid argument that the fight could’ve been called earlier but (Herzog) provided his justification and it seemed fine to me,” Shaw continued.

Health update comes back all clear for Yahya

Despite what seemed to be almost guaranteed as a broken orbital or cheek bone, the commentators on the broadcast provided an update during the main card.

‘The UAE Warrior’ didn’t suffer any facial fractures during his defeat, and CT scans fortunately came back negative.

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