Referee, judging assignments set for UFC 170's Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann headliner
The officials have been determined for this month’s UFC 170 pay-per-view headliner between UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and challenger Sara McMann (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
The referee and judging assignments were determined and announced today during a Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting in Las Vegas.
Veteran ref Herb Dean will oversee the Feb. 22 title fight, which takes place at Sin City’s Mandalay Bay Events Center. Judges Chris Lee, Glenn Trowbridge and Junichiro Kamijo will score the scheduled five-rounder, which will determine the world’s top-ranked 135-pound female fighter.
Dean gets the assignment despite some controversy that followed his recent work at UFC 169. In the event’s headliner, which took place in Newark, N.J., bantamweight champion Renan Barao scored a first-round TKO victory over Urijah Faber, who immediately protested the stoppage after he was knocked down and hit with (largely deflected) hammerfists.
After the event, UFC President Dana White said the well-respected Dean simply made a gaffe.
“Faber was blocking those shots; he gave the thumbs-up,†White said. “[Dean] is the best in the business, as far as I’m concerned. Tonight, he made a mistake.â€
As far as judging, Lee and Trowbridge judge their second UFC event of 2014 following their work at UFC Fight Night 35. Kamijo, meanwhile, has his first UFC assignment of the year. All of them judges multiple UFC events in 2013.
