UFC has returned to Sacramento, California, after a long seven years, and things are getting particularly heated inside the Octagon. Sportsmanship took a back seat during a preliminary fight when one fighter pushed his opponent even after the bell signaled the end of the round, deeply infuriating fans watching the clash live.
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The incident happened during the lightweight bout between Stanley Dorsainvil and Gauge Young. Both fighters came out highly aggressive from the opening bell, swinging haymakers in search of an early knockout as well as the bonus that goes with it. However, it was Young whose uppercut, left hook, and right hook combination rocked the debutant Dorsainvil badly. Still, the 26-year-old managed to survive the onslaught.
Just after the first-round ending bell sounded, Dorsainvil appeared to approach his opponent, only to be met with a shove by Young. In response, Dorsainvil flipped him the bird.
Well, it’s not out of the ordinary for fighters to cross the boundaries of sportsmanship in the heat of the moment. But both fighters had taken verbal shots at each other during media day, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that energy eventually carried over into the Octagon.
After that, both fighters produced an equally grueling 10 minutes of relentless fighting.
The second round remained extremely close, with Dorsainvil landing 50 significant strikes compared to Young’s 48. However, the debutant gained a slight edge by securing a successful takedown. Also, the final round turned out to be an action-packed encounter, with both fighters rocking each other with precise and powerful strikes. But the contest remained razor-close, with Dorsainvil landing 50 significant strikes while Young fired back with 41.
Young also secured two takedowns compared to his opponent’s one. However, the judges ultimately declared Stanley Dorsainvil the winner by unanimous decision.
Afterward, both fighters embraced each other, signaling that the bad blood was over. But the fans still grilled Gauge Young for pushing his opponent after the bell rang.
Fans react to UFC Sacramento fighter showing no sportsmanship
One fan quickly chimed in and instantly pointed out the animosity between the fighters, writing, “We got bad blood in this one!😳🩸 #UFCSacramento #UFC #mma.” Following that, a different fan called out Gauge Young for pushing his opponent at UFC Sacramento, writing, “What’s with the s—y sportsmanship?”
As pointed out earlier, fighters can sometimes lose their composure during a heated exchange, and we saw exactly that tonight. However, this is not the first time a UFC fighter has pushed an opponent in the heat of the moment.
Last year, former UFC fighter Paige VanZant’s husband, Austin Vanderford, defeated Nikolay Veretennikov via ground-and-pound at UFC Seattle. Right after the fight, the Ukrainian approached Vanderford and pushed him, forcing security to intervene. Fortunately, the situation didn’t escalate any further, but it once again proved that fighters can sometimes cross the line when heated emotions are running high.
Still, fans didn’t stop sending backlash Gauge Young’s way for shoving the UFC debutant, with one writing, “Why tho? Tf he push him for. Bro is chimping out.” After that, another user pointed out that both fighters’ trash talk during media day might have contributed to the in-fight squabble, writing, “His s—t talking….typical.”
To be fair, this isn’t the first time Young has found himself on the receiving end of backlash. He also received some scrutiny for emoting on his opponent at UFC Winnipeg without getting a finish.
Soon, fans also started focusing on the fight itself, with one fan pointing out the exhilarating encounter between the two young UFC fighters, writing, “Round 1 ending with some beef these fighters are already bringing the heat🥊👀.” Following that, another fan praised the clash, writing, “This has got to be fight of the night, this was a really really fun one to watch.”
With all the twists and turns involved in the fight, it’s possible that Dana White could award them the Fight of the Night bonus. If that happens, both fighters would walk away with an additional $100,000, which would be a significant boost to their actual payout from the event.
That said, the night in Sacramento started with some serious back-and-forth between the fighters, and it will be interesting to see whether the event witnesses even more controversies.