Toronto, ON — Ramon Taveras expects to see Canadian Serhiy Sidey again following a close split decision at UFC 297 in Toronto.
Bantamweight Taveras (10-2) got the nod on Saturday night, but the ending was not without controversy, much like the pair’s first fight. Per MMA Decisions, one hundred percent of the media members reporting scored the fight for Sidey. Despite that and the fan reaction online, two judges sided with Taveras.
“Oh definitely. I know Serhiy’s here to stay, I respect his game, I respect that he’s smart and I know he trains hard,” Ramon Taveras said during the UFC 297 post-fight press conference, asked if he expected a third meeting with the Canadian. The pair first faced of on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, where Sidey won via TKO. “I know he’ll stay here just like I will stay here for a long time and we’ll see each other again for the third time.”
UFC CEO Dana White told Cageside Press during his own press conference appearance that he certainly heard about a potential robbery— but he didn’t watch the fight closely enough himself to say for sure.
“I had a lot of people blowing me up saying he [Sidey] got screwed in that fight. I don’t know, I don’t really have an opinion on it, I didn’t score it. I didn’t watch it closely enough to have an opinion on it, but you’re not the first one to tell me that.”
Asked about the possibility of a rematch after the second fight ended as controversially as the first (Sidey’s win was considered a quick stoppage), White noted “and this was the one that was supposed to squash the whole controversy. That didn’t work out too well. We’ll see what happens.”
Watch the full UFC 297 post-fight press conference with Ramon Taveras above.
