Max Rohskopf finally addresses the controversy surrounding his coach Robert Drysdale.
To recap, the lightweight fought Austin Hubbard in a preliminary bout at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov; however, the UFC newcomer was outmatched by his opponent throughout most of the two rounds. Rohskoph took the bout on five days’ notice, so fatigue played a factor into the fighter’s performance.
Before the third round, audio can be heard of Rohskopf requesting to stop the bout several times, but cornerman Robert Drysadale refused to call the fight, trying to encourage the lightweight to keep going as he believed that he could turn the bout around. Commission inspector Charvez Foger would stop the bout on Rohskopf’s behalf.
Drysadale responded to the criticism on Instagram by standing firm over what he did last Saturday (Transcript courtesy of Sherdog.com):
“I stand by what I did,” Drysdale said. “I gave him the mental push that he needed. I would expect the exact same thing from him if he was in my shoes – or any of my coaches for that matter. I expect nothing but greatness from the people around me. If they’re critiquing me, that’s love. That’s true love. That’s the only way to show you care for someone is to make sure they’re giving the best version of themselves.
“Had he had been seriously injured, I would have been the first one to stop that fight. I would’ve stopped that fight before anyone else. No one cares about him more than I do other than his immediate family.”
As far as Rohskopf goes, the lightweight has finally spoken since his bout last weekend and the UFC newcomer didn’t truly go into detail about his feelings over the decision Drysdale made:
“I don’t have anything to say except that all the decisions up to this point right and wrong have been mine and mine only,” Rohskopf told The Body Lock. “My manager and coaches did nothing but listen to me and do everything I’ve asked.”