Referee And Judges Assigned To UFC 197 Title Fights

MMA Junkie reports that referees and judges have been assigned to both title fights at UFC 197 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. UFC 197 happens on April 23 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It airs on PPV after preliminary fights on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Herb Dean will be the official for the light heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and challenger Jon Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC). Dean will get $1,900 for the assignment. The judges include Sal D’Amato, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee, who will get $1,600 each.

Cormier joined the meeting by phone and objected to the assignment of Dean, who was the referee for his UFC 182 fight with Jones. He said: “We should have been broken up a couple of times. I just wanted to say that because this is a big event in my life.”

Meanwhile, John McCarthy will be the official for the flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) and Henry Cejudo (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC). The judges are Derek Cleary, Jeff Mullen and Glenn Trowbridge. All will be paid the same amount as the other judges and officials of the main event.

Referees considered for both assignments included Yves Lavigne and Mark Smith. Marcos Rosles was considered for a featured fight but wasn’t selected.