Jason High has become the latest in a long line of MMA fighters to have received a ban for controversial behavior.
UFC President Dana White has confirmed High’s departure following a disagreement at last weekend’s UFC event. The 32-year-old fighter was struck down for shoving a referee while contesting a TKO stoppage.
High was caught in a barrage of punches from his Brazilian opponent Rafael dos Anjos, who then looked at the ref as it became apparent that High would soon be out for the count. Despite High’s consciousness however, referee Kevin Mulhall halted the round at the 3:36 mark, causing High to spring to his feet and shove him.
White was quick to denounce High’s behavior, telling UFC.com: “I’m going to cut him. I look at that way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever f—ing touch a referee, ever. You’re done here.”
High was quick to apologize on social networking sites, tweeting soon after the match: “Incredibly sorry & embarrassed for the ref incident. Will never happen again.”
White was not so quick to forgive and forget however. He added: “He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”
Bagautinov plays on
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the UFC President has found himself having to speak out about banning scandals recently.
It was reported earlier on this month that Ali Bagautinov had been given a two year ban following a positive drugs test.
Russian website MMABoxing.ru published a report claiming that the fighter had tested positive for Methylhexaneamine, an energy boosting dietary supplement which is most often found in nasal sprays.
Bagautinov is currently in the midst of a two year ban from the International Sambo Federation in Russia, but claims that the reports, published in 2012, were nothing other than “BS.”
Spectators who were looking to place their bets on Bagautinov were still able to do so though, as the ban did not affect his current UFC standing or his flyweight title fight with Demetrious Johnson in Vancouver this past weekend.
While Bagautinov is still in the running, some MMA fighters may feel that they can push their luck when it comes to drug taking in tournaments – just last week, UFC President Dana White also expressed his ‘shock’ at Chael Sonnen’s failed drugs test.
With two more UFC events coming up in the next couple weeks, let’s hope that no more scandals rock MMA.