Referees — or umpires — can have varying effects on their respective sporting events.
Some may even have the power to completely alter the outcome of the competition.
We saw that bright and clear on the Sept. 24 Monday Night Football game, when the replacement NFL referees blew the call on the last play of the game.
The referees did not just alter the game that night, but a ripple effect was felt across the league.
Therefore that can affect playoff implications and division winners later on.
In baseball, Armando Galaragga had his perfect game taken away from him in 2010 on the last out of the game.
The runner was clearly out at first base by half a step, but the umpire called him safe ruining Galaragga’s name from being in the hall of fame.
That doesn’t even compare to a win that’s altering someone’s legacy.
There are referees, however, that can alter a game — or match in this case — much easier than any other sport.
Mixed martial arts referees cannot only alter the outcome of a match in an instant, but they could affect the fighters involved.
This presents a double-edged sword for the fighters.
The main job for an MMA referee is to make sure no one gets hurt while in the octagon or the ring.
Sounds simple and kind of easy, right?
Wrong.
Herb Dean — a veteran official in UFC — has been one of the best, but most controversial referees in UFC’s history.
In a fight in 2004, Dean called a stop to the heavyweight championship fight between Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia.
Dean claimed he saw and heard Sylvia’s arm break and called the fight over instantly.
Sylvia argued with Dean, claiming his arm was not broken. The doctors on sight were also confused and said they saw no sign of a break.
UFC president Dana White seemed furious, along with fans in the crowd, yet Dean stood behind what he heard telling them to get an X-ray.
Surprisingly, Dean was correct, as an X-ray showed that Sylvia’s arm was indeed fractured and required surgery.
If Dean hadn’t of stepped in and called the fight, Sylvia’s career could have ended at that moment.
Referees in the UFC have the power to alter the outcome of a fight in an instant, whereas officials in all other sports do not have that capability.
If a referee sees a tap or a fighter slip under into a blackout, the fight is over.
Even if the fighter isn’t blacked out, the referee can call the fight if that fighter is struggling to defend himself or fight back.
There are implied conditions between the fighters and referees that when the referees think the fight is out of hand —or they see something that could affect the fighter’s well being — they have the power to call the fight.
While the fighters who are on the short-handed side of that call always seem to argue it, most of the fighters have come back to Earth and thanked the referees for saving their career or even life.
Yes, I said life.
The UFC is not a sport for boys, as fighters can easily lose their life if “replacement referees” did ever step in.
A chokehold held for too long or too many elbows to the head can cause life-threatening problems.
The issue of football players — and even boxers — taking too many shots to the head that result in concussions are causing concern for depression and even death.
Doctors now look at MMA as more harmful with how the fighters are equipped with much less padding and absorb more vicious hits.
Referees have much more on the line in the UFC than any other mainstream sport.
A bad call in the NFL — like Monday night — can cost someone a win or the playoffs.
There’s always next season.
A bad call in the UFC could cost someone his life or his career.
There isn’t another season or life in that situation.
Hey, replacement referees, you thought their job was tough?
Go talk to Herb Dean.
UFC referees take the belt on having the biggest affect on the outcome of their sporting event.
Reach the columnist at msterrel@asu.edu
Read Josh Nacion's counterpoint to this column here.
