Dana White meddelade efter matchen mellan Jon Jones och Alexander Gustafsson på UFC 165, att en ansiktsskada hos mästaren riskerade få matchen avbruten. Enligt White fortsatte matchen endast på grund av en vädjan från Jones och domare John McCarthy. Detta ledde till konspirationsteorier om att mästaren favoriserats på ett orättvist sätt.
McCarhy medverkade i MMA Hour och kommenterade händelsen. Domaren bekräftade att skadan var så allvarlig att den hade kunnat motivera ringläkaren att bryta matchen:
”He’s (White) right on one thing.The doctor was concerned about Jon’s eye, and if you looked at it, it was a serious cut.That cut happened in the very first round, but it continued to evolve throughout the fight. By the time it got between the fourth and fifth round, the cut was actually — there was an upper level one that was on his eyebrow, and it creased off, like a point had been crossed into his eyelid. There was a flap of skin. So the doctor absolutely had a reason to be concerned with the cut that Jon had.”
McCarthy dementerade däremot påståendet att han själv skulle ha vädjat till ringläkaren om att matchen skulle fortsätta, och menade att beslutet skedde som resultat av en diskussion kring skadan:
”We’re a team when we’re in there. He (läkaren) said, ‘It really doesn’t look that good.’ I said, ‘Jason, this is the last round. I think you need to let him go. I will look at it. If it gets worse, I promise you I will bring him to you.’ He said okay. That’s both of us working as a team together. He let the fight go on, the cut didn’t get any worse, and the fight came to its natural conclusion the way it should’ve.”
