Dana White walked away from Week 4 of the Contender Series Season 10 more frustrated with the third man in the cage than the fighters. Referee Chris Tognoni worked two fights on Tuesday’s card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, and both stoppages drew intense heat.
He handled Modestino Rodrigues vs. Brandon Holmes and Gabriel Loureiro vs. Charlie Cleveland. Both bouts ended in first-round finishes, but Tognoni was heavily criticized for calling one too fast and the other way too late.
Dana White’s Blunt Reaction to Early Whistle
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 raised the stakes higher than ever for fighters looking to secure a UFC contract. With the show airing exclusively on Paramount+ during its strict 10-week summer run, every single second inside the UFC APEX counted toward a fighter’s future. This high-pressure environment made the officiating errors during the Week 4 card even more Consequential for the athletes involved.
Modestino Rodrigues needed just 15 seconds to finish Brandon Holmes with a flurry of punches. Referee Chris Tognoni stepped in and waved the fight off at the exact moment Holmes hit the canvas. The split-second decision gave Holmes absolutely no time to try and recover, and White got furious.
RIGHT FROM THE START ⏰
Modestino Rodrigues earns the knockout in 15 seconds!!!!
[ #DWCS | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/rArESSvLEY
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 2, 2026
While handing Rodrigues his new UFC contract, White brought up the finish without anyone even asking. He told Rodrigues, “One of the worst stoppages I have ever seen on Contender Series. Horrible stoppage by the ref. Not your fault; you were doing your job and doing what you were supposed to do.”
5 new faces to the UFC!
All 5 winners from #DWCS tonight are getting signed to the big show! 👏
[ #DWCS | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/cs8tSLBKH8
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) September 2, 2026
He had already lost by a first-round knockout to Cam Rowston during Season 9, Week 2 of the show back in August 2025, making this his precious chance to prove himself. Instead, a refereeing blunder robbed him of his UFC dream on a technicality. White recognized the injustice and admitted the promotion needs to make it right, adding, “Yeah, listen, we owe that guy. Yeah, definitely.”
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However, Rodrigues improved his record to 8-1 and walked away with his contract. Referee Tognoni botched an earlier fight on the card by standing idly by while Gabriel Loureiro landed a brutal barrage on a defenseless Charlie Cleveland after his mouthpiece flew out.
White also blasted the official for the inconsistency, saying, “Tognoni had another one — the worst stoppage ever when the guy’s mouthpiece fell out, and he got hit with eight more punches than he should have got hit with, and then he goes the complete other way in the next fight.”
Chris Tognoni’s History of Officiating Controversies With Dana White
This isn’t new territory for the veteran official. White and Tognoni share a long, turbulent history marked by multiple high-profile blunders across several years. White famously tore into Tognoni in September 2020 after the Mike Rodriguez–Ed Herman fight, when Tognoni mistakenly ruled a perfectly legal knee to the body as a low blow.
That massive error gifted Herman crucial recovery time before he went on to submit Rodriguez, a result White publicly blasted as “disgusting.” Weeks later, Tognoni caught severe heat during the Jessica-Rose Clark–Sarah Alpar bout, where he hesitated during a chaotic sequence and let Alpar absorb dynamic, unnecessary damage before finally stopping the fight.
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His pattern of fumbles continued into April this year at the UFC APEX, where Tognoni drew widespread media scrutiny for mishandling a controversial illegal-kick sequence between Dione Barbosa and Melissa Gatto.
Referees report to state athletic commissions rather than to the UFC, which is why White critiques them publicly rather than dismissing Tognoni. Since the Contender Series fast-tracks prospects into the UFC, an inconsistent refereeing performance directly impacts a fighter’s career trajectory.
Tognoni is scheduled to work next week, leaving open the question of whether athletic commissions will address his pattern of errors.
