Former UFC referee Steve Mazzagatti resurfaced last month after his poor refereeing job in the WSOF Welterweight title bout between Champion Rousimar Palhares and challenger Jake Shields. During the second round of the title fight, Palhares did not receive any warnings or penalties when he repeatedly dug his fingers into the eyes of Jake Shields while trapped in the bottom full mount position. Then during the third round, Mazzagatti was out of position when Palhares caught Shields in a deep and painful kimura lock which contributed to Palhares holding the submission for a second after Shields had tapped. After the bout, Palhares was suspended and stripped of his WSOF title.
This isn’t Mazzagatti’s first time being caught in the center of a controversial ending to a MMA fight. TheMontageKing has compiled a video highlight package featurig Mazzagatti’s greatest misses and blunders which includes mistakes during high profile fights featuring some of MMA’s biggest stars including Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Ronda Rousey, Cyborg, and Anthony Johnson. In a sport where there is so much at stake and the risk of injury is so high, it makes you wonder how Mazzagatti ever reached the level where he was reffing UFC main events.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fozU3m0Io6I
