Ref Steve Mazzagatti – “I can only go with what’s given to me. I don’t judge fighters by who they are and what they’re known for.”
Veteran mixed martial arts referee Steve Mazzagatti who has been the source of scorn for UFC president Dana White in the past was recently interviewed about his job. Check out some of the highlights below:
On Dana White’s criticism of referees for not standing a fight up:
“[White] has criticized us and we get a lot of criticism for not standing them up – at least I do,” Mazzagatti said in a telephone interview. “They say we let fighters lay on the ground too long and we’re not doing anything. We don’t make the rules. We enforce them. It’s not our job to make sure the fight goes the way the promoter wants it to go. It’s the fighter’s job. It’s their show.
On the role of the referee:
“They’ve got to be the entertainer. I don’t make the fight what everyone expects it to be. All we do is enforce the rules – period — and make sure it’s a clean and fair fight.”
On changing the rules to make fights more exciting:
“I don’t make the rules. If you want to make a 15-second standup rule, then come up with a 15-second standup rule and I will stand them up in 15 seconds,” Mazzagatti said. “I can only go with what’s given to me. I don’t judge fighters by who they are and what they’re known for.”
On who he works for:
“You gotta understand, I don’t work for Dana and we [referees] don’t work for Dana,” Mazzagatti said. “I feel I’m a public servant for the fans and the fighters. I want to make sure the fighters have a good, clean, fair fight that they trained for and expect.”
Source: Heavy
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