Here’s what you may have missed!
It’s always a bit silly when a dozen UFC fights go down and officiating is the biggest source of discussion a day later. Usually, that means the fights weren’t very good. Alas, that’s definitely the case here, as good finishes were outpaced by boring rounds by a fair measure. Card quality aside, talking about the officiating is necessary this time, because it was just that s—t.
From top-to-bottom, the officials Utah brought to the table failed the UFC 307 athletes repeatedly. It was a historically bad evening of judging, filled with random 30-27s that simply cannot be explained. There was no consistency, no favoritism towards wrestling or striking — the cards were utterly random. By the time the main card rolled around, the remaining fighters were surely sweating, because there was no longer any way to be confident in the scorecards.
Even the miserable judging was overshadowed by the performance of referee Dave Sejestad. Truly, I have never seen a ref have less control of the action in a cage than in the Cesar Almeida vs. Ihor Potieria fight. It’s a well-known MMA custom that fighters are allowed one foul, but what about six freebies?
It’s hard to decide whether Sejestad had a personal agenda against Potieria or if he just had a bone to pick with retinas as a concept. Either way, overlooking three consecutive eye pokes in a short sequence is baffling. When the fourth poke occurred a moment later, Sejestad didn’t even bother stopping the action. Just a week ago, Benoit Saint Denis was not allowed to continue into the third round because his vision was compromised. Last night, Potieria eyes were brutally attacked with absolutely no recompense or reaction!
The incompetence didn’t stop there either. Referee Sejestad didn’t punish a clear-cut Almeida low blow, but he did take serious issue with Potieria trying to use the clinch in a mixed martial arts fight. Seriously, Potieria was fighting a top-tier kickboxer and knockout artist, and his attempts to clinch were met with IMMEDIATE separations! His chances of a win in this match up were never great, but you cannot stack the odds even more heavily against him.
Last night was also significant in that it was Jon Anik’s 100th straight pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him outright bothered by an official to this degree. His outrage reflected the reaction online well, and the news that Sejestad would not make a second appearance at UFC 307 was met with gratitude and relief.
For complete UFC 307 results and play-by-play, click HERE!