Dana White at the UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/X/UFC
With the start of the new Contender Series season last Tuesday (11), MMA fans around the world already have things to talk about. One of them happened in the first fight of the night, when Joe Kropschot beat Jon Kunneman by unanimous decision in the middleweight division (up to 83,9 kg) and won a contract with the Ultimate. Although the fight lasted 15 minutes, the moment that caught everyone's attention happened in the third round, when the winner locked in a precise armbar on his opponent, who didn't tap and took the opportunity to signal positively with his thumb. The move generated several reactions in the world of sports, including Dana White.
Despite acknowledging the athlete's mental strength, White made it clear that tapping out during submission attempts is far from being cowardly or a sign of weakness. Furthermore, injuries resulting from certain techniques can pose serious risks to fighters.
See too
“Hitting is part of the sport. It’s nothing that’s frowned upon like, ‘Wow, that guy’s a wimp, he hit.’ That’s not how this sport works. The damage that can be done to your arm for the rest of your life… I’m cool with hitting.” “…I was looking at his face, he didn’t even seem to be in pain, and he had his other thumb up. Dude, your arm is going the other way, damn it. Lower your thumb. I respect that he’s so tough, but there’s nothing wrong with hitting in this sport,” he stated at the press conference.
Dana White reacted to Jon Kunneman refusing to tap to an armbar and putting his thumb up to the crowd after Joe Kropschot broke his arm in round 3 and said he should've tapped. 😂👍💀 #DWCS
"Tapping is part of the sport. It's not anything that's shunned on like: 'Omg that guys a… pic.twitter.com/lQLOtQ6334
— Parry Punch (@ParryPunchNews) August 12, 2026
The fighter mentioned by Dana White suffered a minor injury.
Although the incident caught the attention of onlookers, fortunately the consequences do not appear to have been as serious as initially thought. In a video posted on Instagram a few hours after the confrontation,
“I need to have an MRI to assess the ligaments, but the CT scan showed a small fracture. They say it will probably take me six weeks to recover; it all depends on the ligament injury. There was no dislocation,” the fighter stated.
Exclusive: Michael PQD talks about his brutal UFC debut victory.
Comments