UFC legend slams athletic commissions amid Dan Miragliotta debacle in Vancouver

A former UFC slugger has some strong words for athletic commissions following Dan Miragliotta’s performance as an official in Vancouver.

Miragliotta received heavy criticism for how he handled the Kyle Nelson vs. Matt Frevola fight at the end of the first round. While Nelson was raining down strikes, Miragliotta pulled him off of Frevola with three seconds remaining. Despite the fact that a horn never sounded, Miragliotta thought the round ended and the fight continued. Ultimately, Nelson earned a unanimous decision win.

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Later on in the night, Miragliotta’s officiating was in question once again. Mike Malott landed two low blows in a short period of time on Kevin Holland. The knee to the groin almost took Holland out of the fight, but Miragliotta decided against deducting a point. The general consensus is that Miragliotta had a pretty awful night as an official.

During a recent edition of MMAFighting.com‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Brown scolded athletic commission for rarely holding referees and judges responsible for questionable decision-making.

“These commissions, what are they doing?” Brown said. “Really what are the commissions doing? I don’t know what their job is. The promoters have to pay them, they work for the state. I know technically what their job is. They should be making sure the promoter is doing their job, and the fighters aren’t getting ripped off, and the referees are legitimate referees and the judges are legitimate [judges].

“What the f*ck are they actually doing? I don’t think they’re actually doing anything. I think they’re doing what the f*ck they’re told by the UFC primarily, or TKO so to speak, and they’re all bought and paid for.”

Brown did admit that he thinks being a referee is a “thankless” job. He also said that while he feels Miragliotta hasn’t been sharp as of late, he didn’t deny that the veteran official has been perfectly fine in the past.