YAMMA Chapter IV: Make Me a Referee!

(Warmup)

Welcome to this latest edition of YAMMA. If you look around, you might notice some snazzy new changes. A guy on an internet forum that I frequent hooked me up with the sweet new banner, and I owe him. But he does it for free, so I really don't owe him. Anyway, if you want to know how to contact him, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Thanks again, PIG-E. So, moving on to the main business, today's topic is something near and dear to my heart, which doesn't explain why I'm having so many issues getting this out. I blame the Amazing Race. It is totally distracting me. They are currently in a desert, and have to search for water in order to complete a roadblock. I'm going to stop now, because it probably won't get any better if I don't move on.

(The Bullhorn)

As I'm watching some old fights that I have taped (DVR FTW), I am suddenly jarred by a realization. Most of the attention in a given fight is directed towards the two fighters in the cage, as it should be. But little to no consideration is given to the man who really controls the action: the referee. We all have our favorites (personal: Yves Lavigne), and we know who possesses the ability to properly officiate the fights. And we most certainly know who should never, ever, ehehehehever be in the middle of the action (Here's looking at you person whose name rhymes with... pazzagati. I don't want to name names ya know). The referee is the single most important outside participant in a bout, even higher than the judges. My reasoning is straightforward: A referee has the power to stop a fight at any time, and thus declare a winner. The judges may get a higher percentage of the decisions, but they have to wait until the three rounds (if it's a normal bout, five if a title fight) in order to render the decision. Thus, a referee has much more authority and power in a fight.

I've seen many fights that have been stopped at exactly the right time, but for every one that's been perfect (RE: Lesnar vs. Mir II), there's been one that has been stopped at an improper time. If a fight is stopped too early, it can be extremely disappointing to a fighter. Few things are worse than training for months on end for a fight, one that could be your shot at the big time, only to have a referee take away your chance for glory. But on the other end of the spectrum, if a fight is stopped too late, the consequences could be potentially deadly. One example that clearly stands out in my mind is the Mostapha Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo fight from UFC 92, which saw Kongo take the win due to KO. This was the UFC's year end show, one that was supposed to deliver big time. What we witnessed was a man, defenseless and bleeding on the ground being relentlessly pounded by a superior opponent, who had no choice but to continue raining torment until directed to cease by the official. The referee in that fight was extremely incompetent, and Al-Turk was deemed ineligible for six months by the athletic commission. Six months. Half a year, because Steve Mazzagatti (Oops, so much for no names) was, shall we say, asleep at the switch. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an exemplar of what kind of power refereeing has.

A few months back, I started toying with a little notion. I realized that I have no future as a fighter in MMA, it's just too late for me to start. But maybe I could be involved in a different way. I started researching ways to become licensed as an MMA referee, and after a few tedious seconds of googling "how to become an MMA referee", I stumbled across John McCarthy's website, MMAreferee.com. He runs a program with the snappy acronym "C.O.M.M.A.N.D." (Certification of Officials for MMA National Development. A little cumbersome spelled out, but it works, I guess.), and it apparently is in high demand. I read through the literature available, and was astounded at how much John requires in order to pass his program. $500 dollars for the class, have to travel to California, a very limited passing rate for the class, and that's just level one certification. I quote directly from his site the submissions you are required to know: "Americana or Key lock, , Anaconda Choke, Ankle Lock, Ankle Lock from Back Control, Armbar, Arm Triangle, Bar Arm Choke, Bicep Slicer/Lock, Calf Slicer or Calf Lock, Crucifix Neck Crank, Darce Choke, Double Armbar, Double Wrist Lock/ Kimura, Eziquel or Front Choke, Gogoplata, Guillotine Choke, Head & Arm Control Straight Arm Lock, Head & Arm Control Shoulder Lock, Heel Hook, Inverted Heel Hook, Knee Bar, North-South Choke, Omaplata, Peruvian Neck Tie/De Souza, Rear Naked Choke, Reverse Naked or Front Naked Choke, Reverse Triangle Choke, Rolling Knee Bar, Straight Arm Lock, Toe Hold, Triangle Choke, Twister, Von Flue Choke, Windshield Wiper Choke or Head & Arm". Not content to stop there, separate lists exist for the takedowns, submissions, and positions that you are required to know. On top of all of this, level two certification, which is where you are an actual MMA ref, requires much more training, to my dismay. So, for now, I am giving up on my MMA ref dreams.

So, you might think this is just a sob story about how my dreams were shattered, and now I am a broken mess, stuffing myself with Rocky Road ice cream. Well, here's a newsflash: I don't even like Rocky Road. So there. But my main purpose here is to illustrate what changes need to be made to officiating at events. The above mentioned certification is not necessary in order to be licensed. A disclaimer on the website mentions that you may not receive a license even if you pass the course with flying colors. My question is, why isn't this necessary? Why wouldn't we want the people who fighters trust with their lives to have the absolute best training, in order to safeguard those that we cheer on? When we have instances where a fighter specifically requests that he not be assigned a referee, as was the case when Lesnar refused to have Mazzagatti officiating his rematch with Frank Mir, we need to stop and think about how we choose our refs. Referees need to possess the absolute best in training and, perhaps most importantly, impartiality.

(Soundbytes)

1. Kimbo may again be a contestant on this season's TUF

The hype train needs to stop for Kimbo. If he's coming back, fine, tell us. But don't feed us a bull line about how this could possibly be Kimbo's time to shine yet again. You desensitize us by shoving it down our throat every single week. I can honestly say I don't care if he comes back or not, but he'll always find a way for camera time, since he's such a ratings hog.

2. 2009 World MMA Awards voting begins

This is probably the premier awards for the MMA world, and Fighters Only magazine has done a great job promoting it as such. Check it out at www.worldmmaawards.com.

2.9. I got nothin. But I wanted to put the number up, to remind you that there is never a three.

(Closing Thoughts)

No Echoes section this week, I've been extremely busy with school and the like, so I haven't had the chance to watch any fights. UFC 104 is next Saturday, and I may be driving up north to visit one of my buddies that I haven't seen in a bit. Should be a good card, with my boy Ryan Bader (Who wins the award for most awesome entrance music) on the card. His fight with Eric Schafer is going to be broadcast free on Spike at 9 PM Eastern, so no matter what I get to see Darth Bader throw it down. I don't really have much more to say, so I'll close it up with another plug for my twitter account, (www.twitter.com/Evan_C), and that I hope to see you next week. Oh yeah, quick note: Thanks to the No Holds Barred show and Silver Star for hooking me up with some free goodies, everyone should seriously check them out at thenhbshow.com. Anyway, if you have any questions or concerns, comment below, and feedback is always appreciated. In finis,as I always say:

Peace out, and rock on.

-Evan