Fighters Protest as Dana White Lands in a Mess After Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s Paint Fumes Controversy at UFC Saudi Arabia

If you thought UFC controversies only revolved around bad judging and Dana White’s fiery rants, think again. Jairzinho Rozenstruik might have just kicked off another storm in the fight game, except this one isn’t about unfair rankings or contract drama, but toxic fumes, wrecked performances, and a swift UFC exit. The fallout from UFC Saudi Arabia has left fighters gasping for air, literally. As complaints pile up, what is the UFC’s response so far? Radio silence.

At first, ‘Bigi Boy’ Rozenstruik’s complaints sounded like post-fight frustration, but then the floodgates opened. More fighters started spilling the details of what really went down behind the scenes in Riyadh, and it’s somehow worse than you’d think. Terrance McKinney who wrapped up his fight in just a second over two minutes, kept it real. “I rock with Mup (Mick Maynard), but to be fair, the locker rooms were rough. They just painted back there and even had to air the rooms out by removing the ceilings. A few fighters even had to go to the hospital for breathing problems cause of it.”

And if you are thinking the hospital visits sound bad, wait till you hear about Lucas Alexander’s experience. “I never felt like this in my life. I was so lightheaded and I couldn’t breathe in the locker room, I got videos of the workers opening the roof, doctors’ paperwork, I had to get oxygen Sunday morning with some cortisol because I couldn’t breathe.” Could this be a reason for his second-round KO loss?

Now to the most crucial doubt, whether it affected performances, just ask Mike Davis, who felt like he was drowning inside the cage. “I’m telling you. I was not myself out there. I was out of breath, shadowboxing for the camera. Felt like I was breathing through a tube the whole fight.” Even the #9 flyweight contender, Jasmine Jasudavicius, appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show and confirmed that something was seriously off. “Yeah, they like freshly made the room, I feel like it must have been the day before. I think it was right before slap fight. Yeah, I felt like dizzy almost, but like whatever.”

Basically, for the fans, it was a regular UFC Fight Night, but for fighters, it was like ‘Survivor: Riyadh Edition’, where they had to last through five rounds of paint fumes before even stepping into the cage. And what about the one who barely made it through, spoke up about it, and lived to tell the tale? Cut from the payroll altogether.

Is Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s UFC exit a Coincidence or Consequence?

What was the UFC’s logic in cutting Jairzinho Rozenstruik just days after the Saudi Arabia event? Officially, they chalked it up to his unanimous decision loss to Sergei Pavlovich, because, you know, one loss is definitely enough to erase a 15-fight run, clocking wins over guys like Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

But here’s the thing, UFC’s head honcho has kept fighters around through worse losing streaks. Remember Tony Ferguson and BJ Penn? And ‘Bigi Boy’? He just so happened to be one of the first to publicly call out the UFC over the paint fumes fiasco at UFC Saudi Arabia. “I came to Riyadh to win and pull off the upset,” the Surinamese fighter wrote after the event. “After a strong fight week, I felt dizzy on Saturday due to the paint fumes.”

It’s strange because Rozenstruik isn’t exactly known to be a fighter who gets under the skin of the UFC’s top brass. But to be fair to all of us, we don’t really know what kind of relationship the Surinamese fighter had with the company boss. Either way, Rozenstruik’s UFC career was wiped out faster than the ventilation system in those locker rooms. And he wasn’t alone. Jamal Pogues, another fighter from UFC Saudi Arabia, also found himself out of a job. Again, the UFC isn’t saying a word about whether the locker room conditions had anything to do with it. But the timing? Suspicious at best.

Now, Rozenstruik enters free agency, where PFL, ONE Championship, or even GFL will probably be happy to pick him up. But the bigger question is, was his UFC exit about a loss in the cage, or was it about the potential to change the issue into a broader talking point? And if it’s the latter…who’s next? McKinney, Davis, Alexander, and Jasudavicius – all of them spoke out about the locker rooms. Are they safe, or should we expect another wave of ‘contract terminations’ in the coming weeks?

While the paint fumes may have cleared, this controversy isn’t going anywhere. Will Dana White finally address it, or is this just another case of ‘shut up and fight’? Either way, the UFC’s handling of this mess has left a stain, and this one won’t just disappear with a fresh coat of paint. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!