Jim West, Aspen Ladd's coach, reacts to criticism over his cornering: 'I was a bit harsh.'

 The main event of UFC Vegas 40 between Norma Dumont and Aspen Ladd looked bad on paper and ended up looking much worse in reality. It was a five-round snoozer of a Decision victory for Dumont, who mainly relied on the same combination against Ladd throughout, while Ladd failed to get any striking or grappling game going at all.

This resulted in her coach / lover Jim West delivering what the majority of onlookers felt was rather severe criticism against his fighter / girlfriend.

"You're down 3-0," he advised Ladd before to the start of the fourth round. "Would you kindly inform me of your activities?" You must deliver several strikes! You must fight until the end."

West has now gone to social media to apologize for his cornering tactics, which included a lot of badgering but little technical guidance.

"This was not our night," he captioned a photo on Instagram. "Our night has occurred many times at the greatest level, but not tonight. I am to fault. Even if it is not my fault. It is not debatable. I accept full responsibility."

"Yes, I may have been a bit harsh after the first few rounds, but I know Aspen, and technical discussion was not in the cards at the moment, being down three rounds. Nevertheless, I own it, and I apologize to Aspen. From the bottom of my heart, Ladd, I will strive to improve each time."

What's odd about this scenario is that West was lauded for his cornerwork during Aspen's most recent victory against Yana Kunitskaya.

Following that motivational talk, Ladd entered the ring and TKO'd Kunitskaya 33 seconds into the third round.

Miesha Tate, a fellow WMMA fighter, was one of Ladd's toughest critics after her weight loss for UFC Vegas 39, but seemed more supportive of her after seeing West's cornering.

As for Aspen, she made no mention of the cornering issue after the bout, instead blaming her lackluster performance on a two-year hiatus.

"This is not my night," she captioned a photo on Instagram. "Congratulations to my adversary. We shall return stronger. In the meanwhile, I was able to re-enter after almost two years. Now is the moment to take a step back, take a deep breath, and re-engage in combat and reclaim my identity. On to the following."