The referees and judges for UFC 197’s pair of title fights have been selected by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
At a Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) meeting on Wednesday, the referees and judges were selected for the UFC’s upcoming pay-per-view event, UFC 197, which is headlined by a highly anticipated light heavyweight title bout between champ Daniel Cormier and former titleholder Jon Jones.
Veteran referee Herb Dean was selected to referee the two rivals in their rematch next month. Dean was also the third man in the cage in their first bout back at UFC 182 early last year.
Cormier, however, was not okay with the NSAC’s plans to have Dean referee his fight with Jones again. Over the phone, the UFC champion expressed his opinion on the referee in an official complaint. He said he believed Dean allowed Jones to stall the action in the later rounds in their first fight in January 2015.
Sal D’Amato, Junichiro Kamijo, Chris Lee were appointed as the Cormier vs. Jones II judges.
Also on the stacked pay-per-view card, dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defends his belt for the eighth time against Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo. The 125-pound title fight will be officiated by John McCarthy, another renowned MMA referee.
UFC 197 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 23.