When Anthony Johnson stepped into the octagon Saturday night to battle Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort, it was already apparent that he was fighting for his job. In the aftermath of his unprofessionalism and disrespect to Belfort, the UFC, and the sport for yet another failed attempt to make divisional weight - an aggressive Johnson was stripped of his will to win and was consequently choked out. Although "Rumble" gave the fight away by submission, their has been some growing buzz and controversy concerning the questioning of referee, Dan Miragliotta, and his potential role in, what some have claimed as, the tainting of Johnson's performance by way of his actions. All in which some are arguing as deliberate, unjustified, and suspiciously uncharacteristic acts of intervention during multiple and critical times throughout the fight. 

Anthony Johnson first approached last night's fight with a sense of stern determination and he implemented a strategic gameplan against Belfort, consisting of takedowns and positioning control. After "Rumble" had secured two takedowns, followed by some strong ground and pound, Dan Miragliotta gave him, as well as a bottom threatening Belfort, less than one minute to work from their ground positions... both times. He also gave both fighters a very short opportunity to gain and maintain control while working from the clinch against the cage.

Now, although Miragliotta can be seen at fault for breaking positions and standing up the fight multiple times that directly affected its direction, the actual outcome of the fight cannot be be fully and solely blamed on him. Johnson tapped out, however, that is not stopping many fans from voicing their strong opinions concerning Miragliotta and the obviously "shady" nature of his decisions and actions that were demonstrated. Many fans feel as if his performance was uncharacteristic, inconsistent, unjustifiable, and perhaps even a little suspicious. Take another look at the fight. (www.fightnext.com) Tell us what you think was going through Dan Miragliotta's mind during the fight and why he acted in the way he did in response to the action. How would you rate his job performance? How would you classify his overall ability as a MMA referee since being introduced? If his actions were deliberate, could they have been driven by an agenda? If so, who's agenda and why?

In my personal opinion, I feel like Miragliotta was acting out of character and was clearly in the wrong to intervine as quick as he did in those moments. He is a terribly inconsistent referee who is as unpredictable as the actual fights themselves are. In my mind, him and his actions seemed to be utterly unexplainable and, therefore, suspicious. Remember, Miragliotta was the guy who let Josh Koscheck lay out a 15 minute, painfully boring decision win over Paul Daley, that craziness which occurred between Anderson Silva and Demian Maia in Abu Dhabi, an unconsious Frank Mir to be subject to over 20 unanswered head shots from Shane Carwin's 5XL hands of steel, but also the one who quickly ended Amir Sadollah's night against Johny Hendricks at UFC 101 in highly questionable fashion. This is not mentioning the many other fails and controversial stoppages he is responsible for inside and outside the UFC organization - most recently during Cheick Kongo's incredible comeback win over Pat Barry. 

"You know me and have spoken with me about other fights, my job is to protect the fighters and I try and do my best to do that."

Dan Miragliotta

With that being said, I think most educated fans would agree that the Belfort vs. Johnson fight, even through its exciting tempo and competitive nature, was somewhat tainted by some horrible referee decisions. However, in the end, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has no one to blame for his octagon loss and consequental release from the UFC's roster but himself.

In conclusion, its become apparent that just as the two fighters battling it out inside the cage ultimately control their own destinies, it is now more clearer than ever that not not only does the judging panel, their knowledge, and the fight scoring criteria play just as big of a role in the outcome, but so does the referee and his ability or inability to correctly do his job in a fair, consistent, and unbiased fashion. Yet this is just another one of those "slippery slopes" up for debate in the best, most thrilling and most wildly and widely growing sport in the world.

Related News:

2012-05-18

Urijah Faber will take on Renan Barao for the interim bantamweight title at UFC 148

2012-05-18

Dave Herman to take on Roy Nelson at UFC 146, Gabriel Gonzaga injured

2012-05-18

Cody McKenzie to make featherweight debut, draws Chad Mendes as first opponent

2012-05-18

Jealous Chael Sonnen wants to spit on Anderson Silva