What are referees looking for?
 Herb Dean conducts a final referee inspection
What is he doing? Why is he doing it? And what are they talking about? In this installment of MMA Clinic, veteran MMA ref and fighter Herb Dean explains all the details of the final referee inspection. — Editor
WHO CHECKS? Before a fighter enters the cage, a referee conducts a final referee inspection.
In some cases, there is a system to determine who performs the check. Thus, it could always be the ref who is officiating the next match. On other occasions, the decision as to who does it is strictly haphazard.
CHECKING FOR WHAT? When the fighters get to the cage, we are looking for a variety of things, including the protective gear—such as a cup and mouthpiece—as well as the fight shorts, gloves and skin.
Of course, the fighters can’t fight unless they have their cup and mouthpiece.
When we check the fight shorts, we want to make sure things like the laces are tucked in so they don’t cause any problems during the bout.
As for the gloves, we are making sure there is nothing illegal inside them and that there is no liniment on the outside surface. It’s rare when a fighter has put something in his gloves, but it has happened. At the higher levels, however, we don’t see that type of thing. If a fighter did put some type of liniment on his gloves, it could get in his opponent’s eyes when he punched him.
It’s also illegal to have grease on their body. If a fighter were greased up [he would be slippery], so it would be hard to take him down and it would be easier for him to escape from a submission. A couple places a fighter could hide grease are behind the knees or even inside his ears.
We also make sure his nails aren’t too long either; otherwise, his nails could scratch his opponent.
INFRACTIONS In the pre-fight rules meeting, I tell the fighters what is allowed. At that time, I let them know that if they come out with grease on them that I can deduct a point.
If I find grease, I can wipe it off, but it seeps into their pores so it would not come off entirely unless he took a shower. We can’t delay the fight for him to take a shower, so I would deduct a point.
HOW MUCH TALKING? When I’m performing the check, there is not much conversation between the fighters and me. I use non-verbal cues, so I will point to the location where they should stand, their mouth [for the mouthpiece] and below their belt [for the cup].
The reason I don’t talk to them is because they are in their game and are focused on the fight. It’s intense because they are getting ready for a MMA match. Their mind has to be a certain way. Of course, everyone is different. Some are relaxed; some are intense. Whatever it takes for each fighter, I do not want to interfere.
My method [non-verbal cues] in doing this comes from experience as a fighter and just being around the sport. I do my checks and that is that.Show comments (0) - Add comments to this article: |
