In the world of mixed martial arts, aside from being introduced before the fight, the only other time you ever hear the name of the referee mentioned is when they mess up.
For every Herb Dean that is applauded for their work inside the cage, there is a Steve Mazzagatti that is ridiculed by everyone from the fans to the President of the UFC. When you hear the name of the referee during the fight or near the end of the contest, it is usually because they didn’t save a fighter from passing out in a choke or let a fighter get a few too many punches when they were already out silly.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the worst refereeing calls in UFC history.
UFC 98 – Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover – Referee Yves Lavigne
This is not only one of the worst calls in history, but it’s also one of the strangest.
Nover got thrown to the mat and looked to be briefly rocked by a few punches. Though he appeared to recover instantly, Lavigne stepped in and held Bradley back.
At that stage the fight should have been over, but after Nover got up Lavigne bizarrely decided to let the fight continue for a few seconds before thinking better of it and stepping in again to call an end to the bout.
