White: Jason High done in UFC after ref-shoving incident
In the aftermath of a post-fight incident involving Jason High and referee Kevin Mulhall, the UFC indicated they would wait for the New Mexico athletic commission to dole out any punishment. But three days later, UFC president Dana White has acted with the most serious of penalties: He has cut High.
White confirmed to UFC.com during his regular Tuesday interview that he would cut High after learning of the incident.
White was not in Albuquerque on fight night, visiting Maine on a family vacation.
The incident happened just seconds after referee Mulhall called a stop to the action with Rafael dos Anjos raining blows on High. As dos Anjos rose to celebrate, Mulhall stepped in to check on High, who apparently disagreed with the stoppage and pushed Mulhall backwards in frustration. It did not escalate past that, as the two sides walked away from each other.
Check out the push in this video at the 1:45 mark:
The nine-year veteran later publicly apologized for his action, saying he was "incredibly sorry and embarrassed" for the situation and that it would never happen again. High, 32, had never previously found himself in any type of controversy.
The welterweight had split his four UFC fights, defeating James Head and Anthony Lapsley while losing fights to dos Anjos and Erick Silva.
He has a career record of 18-5.
White equated his actions with that of former UFC welterweight Paul Daley, who was banned from the promotion by White after suckerpunching Josh Koscheck seconds after the closing bell of a 2010 loss.
"You don't ever, ever f****** touch a referee, ever. You're done here," White told UFC.com. "He's been apologizing on Twitter, but he's done."
High still faces possible discipline from the New Mexico Athletic Commission, which is expected to conduct a special meeting in the coming days to address the situation with expediency.
