Don’t Mess With UFC Referee Big Dan Miragliotta

UFC fighters are given two cardinal rules when they enter the UFC’s octagon. The first is to ‘protect yourself at all times’. The second and most important is, ‘Don’t mess with ‘Big’ Dan Miragliotta‘.

Paul Daley forgot that rule when he threw a sucker punch at Josh Koscheck after the bell at UFC 113 and suffered the consequences as the 6ft 4″, 295lb referee grabbed him by the neck and rag-dolled him around the octagon.

Now, admittedly, the punishment in that instance fits the crime, but don’t start thinking just because you’ve committed a minor misdemeanour that, you’re going to be treated any differently.

Fair warning – If Big Dan tells you to stop the fight, you’d better do it right there, and then, son or you’ll get steamrollered into next week like Akihiro Gono at UFC 89.

It’s not just the little guys to whom Big Dan is laying down the law. Renowned backyard brawler or not, if  Kimbo Slice doesn’t let go when he’s told to, then he’d better be prepared to experience The Wrath Of Dan.

Despite his size he can be more subtle about dishing out punishment though. Watch in the clip below as he lets Heath Herring know who’s boss before his bout with Brock Lesnar by “accidentally” jabbing him in the eye. He’s a crafty one, make no mistake.

Thankfully, most fighters know not to step out of line when Miragliotta’s around, or else we’d quickly end up with another injury crisis and potentially the first-ever fatality in the octagon. Instead, usually, all it takes is a quiet word from Dan to put the kybosh on any untoward antics.

Take John Salter’s out-of-character buffoonery in the prelims at UFC 113, for instance. After Jason MacDonald broke his leg accidentally during a takedown attempt, Salter started celebrating as he’d just knocked out Muhammad Ali in his prime with a stiff jab.

It was uncalled for under the circumstances, and being his professional, Big Dan recognized it and ended his shenanigans ASAP simply by having a quick word in his shell-like. I’m no lip reader, so don’t quote me on this, but after careful analysis of the clip below, I believe he says, “Cut that sh!t out, Salter, or I’ll break your legs with my bare hands.”

That’s it, Dan, you tell ’em.

That’s the thing about Dan – he’s not afraid to speak his mind, and he’ll even call out the biggest stars in the sport if they step out of line.

At UFC 112, Anderson Silva spent the closing rounds of his fight with Demain Maia in cruise control, preferring to dance around the cage rather than fight. Most people watching Big Dan didn’t take that approach too kindly, so he decided to call a halt to the fight to let him know. Again, I’ve gone to the trouble of translating what he said, word for word, to the middleweight champion.

“There’ll be none of that Kalib Starnes sh!t here, Silva – not on my watch! Pound-for-pound fighter on the planet or not, if you don’t get your act together, I’ll take you down to Chinatown. Did you see what I did to Kimbo Slice? That could be you next.”

—

After the fight, Dan’s disgust at his antics is evident to all. In the clip below, it looks like Big Dan is raising Silva’s hand in victory, but in fact, he’s just letting everybody know which limb he’s going to rip off if he tries anything like that again in the future.

So there you have it. Big Dan Miragliotta is not just a referee – he’s the UFC’s judge, jury and executioner. Don’t mess!