LAS VEGAS – When Tuesday’s broadcast began, Dana White’s Contender Series 71 had five fights scheduled in the lineup. The night concluded with one less fight having actually taken place.
Moments before his scheduled cage walk, welterweight Quemuel Ottoni (12-3) withdrew from his fight vs. Kody Steele (6-0). His decision-making process was not linear, UFC CEO Dana White revealed.
“[UFC matchmaker] Sean (Shelby) came busting in the back room and then went right in the back room and went somewhere,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “Apparently, he went to the locker room. He heard this kid was pulling out. He went back there and gave him a pep talk and the kid said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and got his hands wrapped again. Then, halfway through the second fight, Sean got called again that he was pulling out. He rewrapped his hands and then said, ‘I’m out.’ This kid flew in from Brazil. He flew in from Brazil. We put him out here.”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 10: UFC CEO Dana White speaks with Kody Steele after the withdrawal of his opponent during Dana White’s Contender series season eight, week five on September 10, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
White paid Steele his show and win money and guaranteed him a slot on a later episode of DWCS with details on the specific date and matchup still to be worked out.
Despite the headache caused by Ottoni, White said he has no hard feelings toward the 15-fight veteran with a 13-2 record. White would prefer that happened now, as opposed to at the next level.
“That’s what this show is for, too,” White said. “Sometimes you don’t have to step into the octagon to know, ‘This isn’t for me. I can’t take this. I can’t handle this pressure,’ whatever his deal was. I’m not sh*tting on the kid at all. Listen, it happens. You show up here, and it’s real. You come here and you’re 9-0 or this and that, then the guy you’re fighting is also 9-0, a lot of these kids have hype on them already. You get here, and you realize it’s not for you. I’d rather have that happen here than in a UFC event.”
Ottoni, nor his team, have yet to comment on the withdrawal or its exact reasoning. Steele voiced disappointment during a brief interview on the broadcast.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Dana White’s Contender Series 71.
