Is it true that you are an accountant?

I am what you call in the USA a CPA (certified public accountant).

How did you get involved with officiating in MMA?

I did a lot of marital arts when I was younger. I did a lot of tournaments. I knew someone who was a referee in kickboxing and he told me that the Athletic Commission here in Quebec was looking for someone to ref and he asked me if I was interested and I said yes. I started to ref boxing then I fell in love with MMA while watching the first UFC. Royce Gracie was amazing. In 97 or 98 I started to ref the Extreme Fighting and I’ve been doing MMAt since.

What was your first UFC?

UFC 58 in Vegas. Mr. Ratner contacted me because it was USA vs Canada. Thanks to him. It’s because of him I’m refereeing in the major leagues now. I only did one fight that night. He gave me a good review afterwards and asked me if I was interested in working other shows in Vegas and I said yes.

UFC 58 was intimidating. You get there because you want to ref in the big show but once you get there and you see all the lights, people, and the cameras it gets to you. You think what have I got myself into. You don’t have that on smaller shows. You only have a split second to make a decision and everyone is watching you.

You aren’t doing every event in Nevada why is that?

I don’t know. It’s not up to me. It’s the Athletic Commission’s. Basically they send me an email and ask me if I’m available. It’s Mr. Kiser who is in charge of the rotation. There’s Herb, Steve, Mario, and a few other refs. Whenever he calls or sends me an email I go and ref.

Which states are you licensed in?

Two, New Jersey and Nevada. However, last year I was licensed in 10 or 15 states. I’m the only Canadian ref in the UFC. If they want a little international flavor they ask me and I come and do the show. I have no criminal record so it’s easy to cross the border.

What’s the hardest part of being a referee?

The hardest part is that you know you are going to be criticized. Half of the people think you will make the right call and the other half won’t. It’s a lonely job and you have to accept that. Everyone has an opinion.

Has a fighter ever come up to you and thanked you for stopping a fight before they got hurt?

Yes, a few times. It won’t happen in front of a camera. It won’t happen in front of people. What I like to do is when I am reffing the fight I like to go back and check on the fighters. With all the adrenaline and everything going on they don’t want to show they are hurt. I like to go back there and ask if they are ok. I ask them if they need a doctor or anything tell me and I’ll help you. Some fighters have said thank you for stopping it but not everyone. But it does happen.

What did you think when Kyle Bradley pulled you into his guard against Chris Lytle?

I stopped it because Mr. Lytle gave him some good shots and he pulled me into his guard. I told him I’m the ref, let me go. His body was reacting. It wasn’t him. It was kind of funny. When he looked at me he didn’t know what was going on.

Mr. Bradley did come up to me an apologize and he said he was embarrassed. I told him it was his body reacting and not to worry about it. I’m the ref. I’m not going to try to pass your guard.

Marcus Davis complimented you by saying he was glad you were the ref during his fight with Paul Taylor, a fight he was rocked but came back to win.

I’ll tell you what I tell them before the fight. We go over things before the fight and I tell them show me you are in the fight and I’ll let it go. If you cover up and you’re eating punch after punch I’ll stop the fight. Even if the punches don’t land flush. I almost stopped that fight right away. You can see me stepping in to stop it but Mr. Davis showed me that he was willing to take punishment on his head to gain postition and pull guard. At the last moment I saw him pushing the leg of Mr. Taylor and pull guard. That’s what stopped me from stopping the fight.

Jason McDonald did the same thing with Maia. He received several punches to the face but he was working to achieve guard. Like I tell the guys show me you’re in the fight and I’ll let it go. Mr. Davis was working for position on Mr. Taylor that’s why I let it go. He deserves all the credit not me.

Do you give some fighters more time to get out of a bad situation?

No, show me you’re in the fight and I’ll let it go. At the last UFC Mr. Massenzio and Mr. Dolloway fought. Mr Massenzio was covering his head and doing nothing to get out of there. In my opinion he was giving up so there’s no reason to let it go until he gets knocked out. It’s just like a human punching bag receiving punch after punch.

What do you in between fights?

I’m watching the fights. When the show starts I’m at ringside unless I didn’t talk to the figther before the show. I usually like to do that before the show so they can concentrate on their fight.

What do you do the day of the fights?

I like to run in the morning. Personally, I like to go to the gym in the hotel and run. If the event starts at 7 we are there at 4 in the afternoon. We do our speech to the fighters. It’s a long day. I like to tell them how I will ref their fight and what I expect from them. I want them to know how I’m going to ref so there are no suprises during the fight. After that I’m watching the show when I’m not reffing.

I’m going to ask you about some of the fights you have officiated.

Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra II

That was my first main event I reffed. It was special because it was in Montreal. There was a lot of pressure because it was Georges St. Pierre. He’s French Canadian and I’m French Candian. It was in Montreal and I’m from Montreal. Mr. Serra was the champion. It was so loud. I know Bruce Buffer tried to speak to me in the octagon and I couldn’t hear him and he was 12 inches away. They were cheering so loud for St. Pierre. I just said to myself. It’s time to go in the bubble.

Where you afraid that a lynch mob would’ve come after you if you would’ve stopped the fight and Serra won?

No, I didn’t know I was going to do that fight. I found out a few hours before the show. You don’t think about that kind of stuff. I try to call in fair and square. I try to be as professional as the fighters.

What about Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva back in December?

It ended very quickly. To be honest I made a mistake in that fight. I wasn’t in position to stop Mr. Jackson from hitting him when I decided to stop the fight. Wanderlei Silva received a good shot. He went down. I did move to make sure to see if it was a flash knockout and see if he was really out. I was behind Mr. Jackson and he was in position to finish him. Unfortunately I wasn’t at an angle to get leverage to push him. He took two extra shots because of me. My thoughts are I did not do my job properly unfortunately.

Did you talk to Wanderlei Silva about it?

No, I did talk to someone from his corner in the lockerroom. I went to see if he was ok and he was alright. He was talking to people.

I learned from that fight. Next time I will move to a different angle so I can push the fighter. I will position myself to be more efficient by stopping the fight.

What about the CB Dolloway Mike Massenzio fight? There was a little controversy whether CB tapped or not.

Mr. Dolloway did not tap. I did not see a tap. I didn’t see Mr. Massenzio stop because of a tap. I tell the fighters if you get caught in a submission I’ll let it go until you tap or if I see a medical reason. The medical reason will be an elbow popping out or if someone passes out. You can tap verbally or physically. You have to tap more than once and make it clear it’s a tap. If you slap once I’m going to let it go. This is professional MMA. There has to be know doubt you tapped. It’s got to be clear it’s a tap.

What about the Chris Lytle Josh Koscheck fight.

Let me tell you something. Between round two and three I went to the doctor and said he is losing a lot of blood. In between rounds the doctor told me that blood is not a factor. I asked him what I needed to do to make sure the fighter was safe. He said make sure the cut doesn’t get bigger. If it gets bigger bring it back to me. It looks bad but it’s not bad. He was cleared by the doctor and the cut didn’t get bigger. I had no reason to stop the fight. Mr. Lylte was punching and kicking so I let it continue. I’m sure it looked bad on TV but I hadn’t watched it on TV.

Heath Herring and Noguiera

That was my first high profile match. It was in California. I probably didn’t do very well because I haven’t reffed in California since then (laughs). However, like I told you before. I told the fighters in the dressing room show me your in the fight and I’ll let it go. Nogueira was hit with a good shot. He went down but his head was off the mat and he was trying to achieve guard so I had no reason to stop the fight. I think I did ok on that fight.

What about Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida?

It was an exciting fight. I fell on my butt during that fight. I saw it on the internet. It’s pretty funny. It happens to everyone but I had to do it in front of thousands of people.

Tito amost pulled a submission on him. The fun part was when I got out of the octagon. Stitch got on me with an ice pack and he asked if I was ok and everyone gave me a hard time.

Who are some of the fighters you like to watch fight?

I like to watch them all. You don’t have to be a superstar to have a great fight. Ring of Combat has some exciting fights. I don’t know any of the fighters names but they are exciting. I just enjoy watching MMA.

Have you reffed any of The Ultimate Fighter fights?

I’ve done some. It’s up to the Athletic Commision. I’m the only Canadian so it’s expensive to bring me in. Normally there are three refs on each show so there has to be a rotation. But some have more experience than me so they may get more shows.

Have you ever seen a decision in the octagon that you didn’t agree with?

I usually don’t think about that. I’m not a good judge. I might if I’m watching it on TV but I don’t think about things like that.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans?

Thank you, I am so priviliged. I’m just a ref and I love MMA. The fighters are the stars. Seriously, I’m trying to be the best ref I can be. The fighters deserve that.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 5:49 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.