Beginning the week debating controversial referee and judging
outcomes is common practice for MMA fans.
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What isn’t as common is having two situations as controversial as
those that occurred in the main events of two different
organizations, as was the case last weekend at Fury Fighting
Championship 76 on Friday and UFC on ESPN 43 on Saturday.
At Fury FC 76, referee Frank Collazo failed to recognize that
Gianni
Di Chiara Vazquez had been rendered unconscious by a triangle
choke from opponent Edgar
Chairez. That led to Vazquez waking up and tapping out when
Chairez transitioned to an armbar in a
potentially dangerous sequence.
One day later, judge Joel Ojeda inexplicably submitted a 48-47
scorecard for Marlon Vera
at UFC on ESPN 43 in a bout that was clearly won by Cory
Sandhagen. It was a tally that
drew criticism from throughout the MMA community.
Former Brazilian MMA Commission (CABMMA) judge Guilherme Bravo
expressed indignation over both instances on his weekly program,
“Momento Bravo.”
“How can a referee with one UFC participation in 2022 be chosen to
judge a UFC main event?” Bravo said. “With the level MMA has
reached, fighters, managers and promotions must pressure
commissions to hire the best professionals. The case of (Fury FC
76) was even more serious. The lack of basic grappling knowledge of
the referee could have caused the death of a fighter. In cases like
that, commissions should request [mandatory education].”
Carlos Barreto, a former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships
competitor who currently serves as a color commentator for UFC
Fight Pass Brazil, also expressed his disappointment in Collazo and
Ojeda.
“I have refereed more than 200 MMA and Vale Tudo fights in Brazil.
For being in the ref’s shoes so many times, my tendency is
naturally to avoid heavy criticism, but concerning these two cases,
I have to say that those guys should be suspended from the sport,
being obliged to do some kind of [mandatory education],” Barreto
said. “How could a judge be unable to recognize an unconscious
fighter? This guy could literally have killed the fighter.
“The Ojeda [scorecard] giving three rounds to Vera against
Sandhagen is something totally inexcusable,” he continued. “For the
[well-being] of the sport and the respect of the professional
fighters, those two have to be at least suspended by all MMA
commissions. For the growth of the sport it is important to start
having some kind of penalties for judges and referees in absurd
cases like that. After all we are dealing with human lives and
those shameful situations must be avoided.”