ELITE MMA Referee School

The sport of mixed martial arts as a whole is still very much evolving. From the early days of the UFC when fights would go on until literally one man couldn’t take anymore to now where state athletic commissions like Nevada and New Jersey have put rules in place to protect the fighters and sanction these rules that the referees governing the match have to enforce.

For a sport that is only still in it’s infancy, the referees who are in charge of the fights haven’t had the years of watching and learning their trade like referees or umpires in some of the major sports. But for all the criticism that the mixed martial arts referee receives, it is they who protect the fighters from harm and are placed with the supreme power to decide when enough is enough in any fight."

"Referees in mixed martial arts have a clear cut responsibility and that is to keep the action legal and within the rules and also protect the fighters at all times and keep anyone from being seriously injured. Very rarely do the referees receive accolades for their great work and it is often when they are criticized for what others may call a questionable decision. In a full contact sport that moves very quickly it is hard to truly be mistake free, but the referees of mixed martial arts definitely have one of the toughest jobs in the entire industry." It's obvious Damon knows what he's talking about.

Yeah - I know he told Joe Rogan in the post-fight ring interview: "Normally, I'm not that way in fights. I know if the guy is out, I tend to stop. I knew I hit him out. I think that one was just to shut him up a bit." But watch the video above closely – you'll see he knocks Bisping out, and then goes down for the kill. He doesn't hesitate; he doesn't appear to be thinking about it -- instinct took over and he just did what a fighter's been taught to do...keep hitting until the ref calls it or the bell rings.

So when he said what he did, I think he was just playing to the crowd. Truly, we'll never know what was really in his mind, but I don't think he had time to think to himself: "hey - Bisping's out...look at him lying on the floor like that; I think I'll punch him again just to shut him up a bit!" and then proceed to do so. There just wasn't enough time for that much processing!

I don't like what Dan Henderson did at all; in my book it adds up to unsportsmanlike behavior - and anyone who knows me knows how I feel about that. And as much as I wanted him to kick Bisping's ass, no one should be pounded like that after already being knocked silly.

On a personal level I do understand where he was coming from however. People in my dojo...even my own son...think it's real funny to come up behind me and yell "boo" to see me turn around and get ready to belt them one. Usually my black belt training takes over, I control myself and keep from hitting them. But a few times, especially when I was really concentrating on something, someone's come up behind me, yelled BOO...and then found themselves in major pain or lying flat on the floor. Instinct. And that's just while training at the dojo, not while I was in the middle of a heated fight!

Given the bad blood between them (which was NOTHING when compared to the Tito/Shamrock crap - Hendo and Bisping were BFF's compared to those two) and Hendo's desire to kick him to the curb for going on and on and on...about absolutely nothing during the TUF 9 show, not to mention how much he gloated about the Brits kicking the asses of the U.S. team, he abused Henderson's fighters on many levels, and he acted more like "one of the guys" instead of a coach - so much so that Dan just wanted to shut him up.

Let's not forget it's the ref's job to call a fight -- which Yamasaki did as soon as he saw Michael Bisping was out, so he did his job. But should Henderson have noticed Bisping was out after he hit him with the big one, jumped in the air to then go down to give him another all in that split second...and stopped himself? Well, yeah. But he was already in the act of following through with his combo; then adrenaline and instinct took over. Dan Henderson did what he was trained to do, plain and simple. I don't like it, but I do understand it. And he HAS apologized for it, right?