WTF Ref! pic.twitter.com/UMdFkCPlhn
— Bruno Massami (Бруно Массами) (@BrMassami) August 20, 2018
Want to see some really bad MMA officiating? Like really, really bad? Watch the video above.
This baffling referee disaster occurred at Daredevil Fight 13 inside the Ginasio Duduzao in Bauru, Brazil on Saturday night (h/t Dario Ferrari).
In the fight, we can see one fighter lock up a choke. After a brief struggle, his opponent clearly drifts into unconsciousness. And yet the referee just stares blankly at this tragedy-waiting-to-happen as if he’s trying to remember if he left his stove on. The choke continues, and continues, and continues, until finally the referee snaps back to reality and remembers that he’s supposed to be overseeing a fight. Only then does he remove his hands from his proverbial pockets and stop the fight.
This officiating SNAFU was severe enough that it drew the scorn of veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy, who unleashed hell upon the dimwitted ref on Twitter.
That is one of the most sickening things I have ever seen in MMA!!!! That referee has no idea what he is doing and could cause a death due to his ignorance and incompetence. This is why MMA needs a worldwide governing association that could handle such outrageous negligence https://t.co/bN83YYOHQw
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) August 20, 2018
“That is one of the most sickening things I have ever seen in MMA,” a furious John McCarthy said in his first Tweet on the matter. “That referee has no idea what he is doing and could cause a death due to his ignorance and incompetence. This is why MMA needs a worldwide governing association that could handle such outrageous negligence.”
McCarthy also gave his take on when the fight should have been stopped. Shocker: he thinks it should have ended a lot earlier.
Realistically??? How about as soon as he went out at the 1:49 mark. If you are going to step into a ring or cage to referee any type of combat sport, you better know what the f#%k your looking at or people can actually DIE!! https://t.co/FZPj6HveEq
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) August 20, 2018
“Realistically??? How about as soon as he went out at the 1:49 mark,” McCarthy said of when the fight should have been stopped. “If you are going to step into a ring or cage to referee any type of combat sport, you better know what the f#%k your looking at or people can actually DIE!!”
McCarthy also added that it’s valuable for referees to have actual experience in the martial arts. We’re guessing this referee didn’t.
Obviously the referee should have experience in all elements used in MMA. Sometimes the fights in MMA are very easy to referee. And sometimes they are incredibly hard. Your knowledge is what gets you and the fighters through it safely #AskBJM https://t.co/lDps2sxr5Z
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) August 20, 2018
“Obviously the referee should have experience in all elements used in MMA,” he said. “Sometimes the fights in MMA are very easy to referee. And sometimes they are incredibly hard. Your knowledge is what gets you and the fighters through it safely.”
What do you think of this terrible referee screw-up?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/20/2018.