Everybody knows that Cody McKenzie isn’t the prototypical fighter. He’s more resembling of a 1960’s hippie than a “cage fighter”; and UFC president Dana White isn’t ignorant to this – he is well-aware of McKenzie’s quirky nature.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, White addressed the bizarre incident in Cody McKenzie’s bout against Sam Stout – where McKenzie seemingly forgot to remove the price tag on his shorts. The president was visibly embarrassed by the incident, and considering the fight aired on FOX Sports 1 – this isn’t surprising.
“That was fantastic, right?” he said. “What that was, was UFC amateur hour.”
White explained that the UFC check the fighter’s attire prior to their walkout to ensure that all regulations have been correctly adhered to. It seems like they botched it this time, somewhat reminiscent of the Denis Hallman ‘speedo’ fiasco at UFC 133.
“We have a guy backstage who polices all the things when you’ve got a guy going out there.” he said. “First of all, if it’s not bad enough that he’s out there with basketball shorts on – how about he’s got the price tag still on the shorts during the fight. That was pretty embarrassing”.
However, White was quick to come to the defence of McKenzie and held the UFC employee’s liable for the evening’s mishap.
“That’s one of the weirdest things that I’ve ever seen, and it’s even weirder that we let it happen,” he stated. “Didn’t we have this conversation once? This is like deja vu. Maybe he was going to fight in his jeans and thought he should get some shorts. I don’t know, man.
“Cody McKenzie’s a strange dude. But it’s not Cody’s fault that that happened tonight. That’s the UFC’s vault. We’re here for a show on FOX, and it’s pretty damn embarrassing.”
There were rumours that McKenzie didn’t have a mouth-piece, and that somebody had to give one to the Ultimate Fighter 12 cast member. White said that he wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.