Issue 088
May 2012
Prove your worth to the commission by scoring fights first before progressing into the cage
This month I want to discuss a topic for all those up-and-coming referees trying to break into the industry. I often hear the same story from many individuals hoping to become referees for MMA. It goes something along the lines of, ‘I really want to get involved as a referee, but my commission isn’t hiring anyone at the moment.’
Mario Yamasaki
UFC referee
An MMA referee for 13 years, Mario has black belts in judo and BJJ and refereed the jiu-jitsu Pan-Am Games.
It’s true most commissions already have a pool of referees they’re using and often they are not looking at hiring anyone new, despite a list of possible credentials. So how do you get into the commission and fulfil your dreams at becoming a referee? You need to make yourself a bit more versatile, and one of the best ways is through cross training.
Cross training in terms of the actual definition refers to an athlete training in sports other than the one he or she actually competes in, with a goal of improving their overall performance.
In MMA, the definition involves a fighter training in various martial arts disciplines to offset any weaknesses in their style.
As a referee the definition means becoming proficient in another role that can enhance your skill as a third man in the ring and make you a more desirable commodity for a commission. So what role are we looking at? Simple; you become an MMA judge.
And before you ask, ‘But I trained to be a referee and not a judge, how are these positions even related?’ Let me state that there are many common skills found in both judging and refereeing. The following are just a few.
OBSERVATION
A referee is a trained observer. A referee will look for what offensive action is taking place, which fighter is in a dominant position, which fighter is advancing their game? These are in essence the same things that a judge is looking at.
UNDERSTANDING MMA
Coupled with observation, a referee needs to understand the technical arsenal surrounding the sport of MMA. A judge needs to know the same thing in order to evaluate the judging criteria and determine who is winning the round.
MAKING DECISIONS
A referee is a decision maker; interpreting rules and applying those rules during the course of the fight. A judge is also a decision maker. At the end of each round a judge needs to make a decision. They also need to be able to articulate (if asked by the commission) why they scored a fight the way they did.
Again these are just a few simple common skill sets shared by both referees and judges and you can probably think of quite a few more.
Getting your foot in the door with any commission and allowing them to get to know you is a step in the right direction. Commissions are a unique entity and most that I deal with involve working as a close-knit group of individuals. When you work for a commission you become part of a team of people involved in successful regulation of the events.
Generally these people have been working together for a long period of time and as a result the commission trusts them and their ability to work well together. So with this in mind it becomes difficult to bring a new person in and take over a position from someone who is already there. Your goal should be to try to gain entry into the commission so you can gain the trust of the people around you.
Once you get licensed as a judge and people get to know and you do a good job, they are more likely to allow you to take on a different role later on. The goal is to break into
the organization and showcase yourself with your skills. Since usually there are more judges needed at events than referees it is sometimes easier to break into a commission going this route.
And don’t think you’ll be typecast as a judge either, more and more referees double as both a judge and a referee and the simple reason is because of the cost effectiveness. It is better to use referees who have judging experience because this keeps the cost down. The structure of an MMA show consists of having a minimum of three judges as well as a minimum of one referee. Keep in mind these are minimum numbers and these minimums are all that is required to work a bout.
However, most commissions will like to assign additional referees to offset fatigue so that one referee isn’t doing all the bouts and also in the event that a referee becomes sick or injured or doesn’t show up to the event. In these cases most commissions will always have at least one other referee present, if not more. The same is also true with the judges.
In smaller shows, with a restricted budget, it makes better economical sense to have the referees who are not working inside the cage at the time, to work as a judge, because in that regard you don’t have to hire as many judges. Many commissions have adopted this practice. An official who can work both as a referee and a judge can be a valuable commodity to a commission looking for cost-effective strategies with their personnel.
