“That fight was rigged… When you’re bringing in that kind of oil money and all that Middle Eastern money, bro…” Bryce Mitchell stirred things up when he talked about UFC events in the Middle East, specifically, the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. Even though the former lightweight champion won the bout via a first-round KO, ‘Thug Nasty’ believed that the judgment wasn’t fair. And now, Dana White finds himself in the eye of scrutiny as Mike Davis reveals some unexpected details about fights in Saudi Arabia. 

The UFC head honcho brought the UFC to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the second time on February 1, 2025, Nassourdine Imavov knocked the former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, out in the second round. It was a heartbreak for many, and the event endured another heartbreak as Fares Ziam defeated the fan favorite Mike Davis via a unanimous decision. 

During a recent appearance on MMA LockerRoom, the host, Millz, asked Davis about his stance on fighters competing in foreign countries and whether overseas events affect athletes’ performance inside the cage. ‘Beast Boy’s response further fueled Bryce Mitchell’s controversial claims about UFC fights being rigged abroad. According to him, “There’s a lot of politics that goes into martial arts as well. And I feel like when you fight overseas, you go to someone else’s turf where they already have this massive fanbase that’s been building. And you know, the promotion wants a part of that.” 

Davis continued, “They want that fighter to grow. Especially in Saudi Arabia, where you know, that was their first event or second event, and they’re trying. Saudi Arabia’s got oil money. So, hey, I would do the same. I want my, you know, my Muslim fighter, my area fighter to win in that fight. I want him to do great. So, I feel like… And I’m just saying like, a lot of fighters were flown in and set up for failure.”

Now, the question that remained was – Will ‘Beast Boy’ fight overseas again? The answer was a stern no. He reasoned, “Last time I fought at Saudi Arabia, we struggled with getting a hotel at the right time. I didn’t even have a hotel when I got there. I’m not fighting overseas. Just not gonna happen.” However, that doesn’t mean he has completely ruled out overseas events. The only way he’d consider fighting abroad is if it were for a championship title or of equivalent significance.

Needless to say, Mike Davis and Mitchell aren’t the only ones to call out the questionable judgment at foreign events. Even Joe Rogan has a similar claim regarding UFC fights abroad. Let’s see what the famed UFC color commentator had to say about it. 

Joe Rogan weighs in on ‘sketchy’ behaviour of Dana White’s judges overseas

During the UFC 308 JRE Fight Companion, Rogan and his guests weighed in on the fight between Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakic. The bout ended with a unanimous decision in favor of Ankalaev. And the JRE host called the decision out, “Okay, who won this fight? Ankalaev? We’ll see. But you know, decisions are sketchy.” That’s when Brendan Schaub attacked Dana White’s events in Abu Dhabi. He added, “Especially in Abu Dhabi.” 

Rogan continued, “We’ve had some decisions that were f—— [sketchy]. I think they bring the same judges everywhere [but] I don’t know. I don’t know what the rules are… But I think the judges for the most part are the same judges. I think they are like travelling judges like the judges they think are the good judges. I think some of them are good judges. But every now and then you get a decision where you’re like whoever the f— thought the fight went that way really shouldn’t be doing this on a professional level.”

Rogan was also against the local referees in the USA. He once called out the judges from Kentucky and claimed that they weren’t really qualified to judge UFC events. And as far as Davis is concerned, he’s going to fight Mitch Ramirez in the preliminary card for UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Teixeira, this Saturday night. Do you think he can redeem himself and get a win this time?