UFC 232 already changed states and venues due to an abnormality in Jon Jones’ drug test results. Now Saturday’s headliner will have a new referee.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Mike Beltran will replace Herb Dean as the official for the light heavyweight championship clash between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. Dean, who was appointed by the Nevada Athletic Commission, suffered an injury and will not be able to work on Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. UFC 232 was moved from Las Vegas to California when the NAC declined to license Jones.
California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster will attempt to keep the rest of the judges that were chosen to score the two title fights at UFC 232, and Marc Goddard is still expected to be the third man in the cage for Cristiane Justino vs. Amanda Nunes, per the report.
Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Junichiro Kamijo are expected to be judges for Jones-Gustafsson, while Chris Lee, Dave Hagen and Mike Bell will score “Cyborg” vs. Nunes.