California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) recently released its referee and judging assignments for the Alex Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria featherweight title fight, which headlines the UFC 298 pay-per-view (PPV) card on Sat. night (Feb. 17, 2024) at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Longtime referee Jason Herzog will oversee the five-round headliner pitting “The Great” division champion against the No. 3-ranked “El Matador,” according to a report from MMA Fighting, a high stakes showdown to be scored by veteran officials Ron McCarthy, Derek Cleary, and Sal D’Amato.
The competency of MMA judging has been a hot-button issue in recent months.
“I think it’s less about the competency of our judges and more about the limitations in the tools they have,” Herzog said. “They need half points. The range of fights that fit into a 10-9 is way too large. Close round. 10-9.5, decisive round, 10-9. Dominate round 10-8.5 or 8.”
A pay raise may attract more qualified judges.
UFC 298 will also feature the middleweight co-headliner between former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker and one-time division title challenger Paulo Costa. Elsewhere on the card, ex-bantamweight kingpin Henry Cejudo collides with streaking 135-pound contender Merab Dvalishvili.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 298 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
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