Issue 079
September 2011
It’s a referee’s job to ensure the action never stops in the cage, even when both fighters are on their feet
An MMA referee for 12 years, Mario Yamasaki has black belts in judo and BJJ and refereed the jiu-jitsu Pan-Am Games
After a couple of high-profile incidents and a flood of questions from fans I want to discuss restarts in MMA competition; specifically restarts from the clinch. This is probably one of the more controversial aspects referees face because there are numerous opinions on when and why fighters should be broken apart and restarted.
Fights are stopped and re-started for generally one of three situations:
To assess and/or take action on a foul
To assess and/or take action on an injury
When fighters have stalled and there is
no progression
The final point is what we are going to be discussing here, and as stated earlier: restarting from the clinch. At UFC 5, Royce Gracie fought Ken Shamrock in a superfight for 30 minutes, in which the action consisted of having Shamrock in Gracie’s guard. In traditional BJJ matches winning by way of attrition was not uncommon. However, in the modern world of professional MMA, rules have been established to ensure that this doesn’t happen and fighters need to be active and progress the fight. This includes both standing and on the ground.
In MMA all fights start out standing with fighters being at long range. The fighters can maintain this range or, depending on their strategy, they can close the distance and enter into stand-up grappling or clinch fighting. Eventually they can enter into ground fighting if they choose or back out and go back to longer range. The transitional range is the clinch, where fighters can still strike, grapple and either go back to long range or enter into a takedown or throw and go to the ground. As such it is imperative that a referee understands this zone and all the combative applications associated with it.
Fighters who enter into clinch fighting generally will press one another against the cage. As a referee I am looking at subtle clues to see how a fight is progressing. My family has a strong background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo and this has aided me as a referee in allowing me to spot the key signs of whether a fighter is capable of initiating any offense or making the determination that the clinch has just become a stalemate.
I am looking who has the overhooks and underhooks, where the hips are positioned, where the head is, the angle of the body. These are all valuable clues to determine who is in control of the clinch and what is happening in the fight. You are also looking at what action is taking place: are strikes being landed – such as knees, elbows, short punches or dirty boxing. Which fighter is imposing his will on his opponent?
As a referee I am also looking out for fatigue. Generally the more fatigued a fighter is the less likely they will be able to generate any offensive skills, and fatigue generally brings about a stall. Stalling is where fighters are clinched, but they are hanging onto each other and basically just resting, and not one fighter is progressing the fight.
As an MMA official, having a detailed understanding of MMA and the various techniques and tactics that are being presented is critical. As a referee you don’t want to separate and restart fighters without justification, especially when one fighter has taken calculated steps to close the distance and get into a clinch where they can utilize their grappling skills to their advantage, whether through strikes or to secure a takedown and go to the ground.
Roy Nelson vs Frank Mir, UFC 130
The recent Roy Nelson vs Frank Mir fight at UFC 130 is a great example of two fighters who were involved in clinching against the cage. In the first round the action was established against the fence, with numerous knees being landed and lots of pushing against the cage. Here you have two heavyweights at over 250lb going at it hard. Josh Rosenthal lets them fight it out against the cage and we witness a lot of strikes. Then Frank Mir lands a classic judo throw – an o guruma – to take Nelson down.
In the later rounds the fighters are a bit more fatigued. Mir is still in control of the fight and the action continues to go to the cage. As a referee you should recognize that a pattern is developing, one in which both fighters have embraced pushing against the cage as a strategy.
You should also be recognizing that fatigue is playing a role in the clinches and as a referee you need to start identifying and comparing the fighters in these last rounds against how they were in the early rounds. Josh Rosenthal does a great job and separates them when the action and progression has stopped, and allows them to fight it out when they are maintaining offensive skills.
