(Yep, that guy in the middle is going to be the referee. And that’s not even the scariest part.)
It is a pretty well known fact that Frankie Edgar has been at the center of some controversial decisions during his run as the UFC lightweight champion (and before it, and after it…). It is also a pretty well known fact that Steve Mazzagatti has been responsible for more botched calls in his refereeing career then Carly Rae Jepsen was in 2012. It is also also a well known fact that many of the current judges in MMA couldn’t tell a leg kick from a kneebar if their lives depended on it.
So with all that in mind, you’d think the Nevada State Athletic Commission would try their hardest (or try at all, really) to ensure that the upcoming featherweight title fight between Edgar and Jose Aldo at UFC 156 would be held under the supervision of the sport’s finest referees and judges, as to avoid any controversy that could possibly come as a result of their own incompetence. You would be wrong. As MMAJunkie reports:
During a meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission tapped veteran referee Steve Mazzagatti to officiate UFC 156′s main event.
Additionally, the commission named Adelaide Byrd, Jeff Collins and Junichiro Kamijo to judge the featherweight title fight, which pits champ Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) against ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC).
My God, that was like reading over the list of dinner specials at a Tallahassee Denny’s establishment. At 4 a.m. Sure, the food looks decent enough when doctored up on the glossy menu, and besides, you’re already half in the bag. But then you happen to take a glance at the nutritional facts…and your heart suddenly sinks with the realization that there is no way your night doesn’t end with anything but rhythmic bouts of explosive diarrhea and shame.
Although we should breath a sigh of relief that Cecil Peoples’ name is nowhere to be found on the list of judges, it might interest you to know that Adelaide Byrd was the judge that recently scored all three rounds for Melvin Guillard in his one-sided loss to Jamie Varner at UFC 155. We’ll say that again, Adelaide Byrd scored all three rounds for Melvin Guillard at UFC 155. For those of you who didn’t catch that fight, we implore you to seek it out using whatever means possible, then ask yourself how someone who is paid to determine the winner of an MMA fight reached that conclusion. Oh yeah, and Byrd also scored the UFC 126 bout between Jake Ellenberger and Carlos Eduardo Rocha 30-27 for Rocha. So there’s that.
As for Collins and Kamijo? Well, you can take a look at their history of decisions here and here and draw your own conclusions. In our opinion, they should be able to balance out the inevitable suckitude that Byrd will bring to the table, although Collins’ 30-27 scoring of the Gleison Tibau/Khabib Nurmagomedov fight for Nurmagomedov should definitely raise some eyebrows.
On second thought, we should all just start preparing ourselves for Edgar vs. Aldo II. If Mazzagatti doesn’t misread a submission or rule an eye poke a TKO, the judges will surely score the fight a split decision for the wrong guy, or a draw. Maybe the rematch can be broadcast on the new Fox Sports 2 channel – preferably as their second UFC event — so we can all look forward to discussing UFC on Fox Sports 2 II: Edgar vs. Aldo II. Should be fun.