Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King

Leading third men: The 10 referees who oversaw the most UFC fights in 2022

The UFC’s 2022 schedule is in the bag.

This past year was busy and booming not only for fighters, promoters, and coaches, but referees, as well. 2022 marked an upward tick in non-UFC Apex events for the promotion. The UFC held events in eight U.S. jurisdictions (Arizona, California, Florida, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Utah) and three countries abroad (Abu Dhabi, London, and Singapore).

Over the span of 12 months, the UFC promoted 42 events. During those shows, 27 referees were used – a 35 percent increase in the number of referees (20) used across 43 events in 2021.

With the increased diversification of officials, the number of fights refereed by last year’s leaders largely bumped down on an individual basis.

Below is a full list of every referee that officiated at least one UFC fight in 2022 (in alphabetical order by last name). The list does not include Dana White’s Contender Series fights. The data was calculated using leading MMA database Tapology:

Mike Beltran, Lukasz Bosacki, Ryan Brueggeman, Gary Copeland, Herb Dean, Thomas Fann, Larry Folsom, Andrew Glenn, Marc Goddard, Kerry Hatley, Jason Herzog, Kevin MacDonald, Dan Miragliotta, Rich Mitchell, Jacob Montalvo, Dan Movahedi, Steve Perceval, Keith Peterson, Loic Pora, Dave Seljestad, John Sharp, Mark Smith, Chris Tognoni, Tyler Tomlinson, Frank Trigg, Chad Trukovich, Jerin Valel

Ten of the officials listed above refereed a double-digit number of fights for the promotion. Which of those referees did the UFC use the most in 2022? Scroll through the list below to find out.

10
Kerry Hatley - 12 UFC fights officiated

Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Don’Tale Mayes (red gloves) fights Hamdy Abdelwahab (blue gloves) in a heavyweight bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

9
Jacob Montalvo - 18 UFC fights officiated

Jul 16, 2022; Elmont, New York, USA; Matt Schnell (red gloves) fights Sumudaerji (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

8
Dan Miragliotta - 19 UFC fights officiated

Nov 12, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Dustin Poirier (red gloves) and Michael Chandler (blue gloves) during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

7
Mike Beltran - 33 UFC fights officiated

Aug 20, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Paulo Costa (red gloves) fights Luke Rockhold (blue gloves) during UFC 278 at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

6
Marc Goddard - 37 UFC fights officiated

Nov 12, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Israel Adesanya (red gloves) and Alex Pereira (blue gloves) during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

5
Jason Herzog - 44 UFC fights officiated

Jul 2, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ring referee Jason Herzog waves off the fight after Pedro Munhoz (red gloves) was accidentally poked in the eye during the bout against Sean O’Malley (blue gloves) during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

4
Keith Peterson - 58 UFC fights officiated

Nov 12, 2022; New York, NY, USA; Carla Esparza (red gloves) and Zhang Weili (blue gloves) during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports

3
Chris Tognoni - 63 UFC fights officiated

Jul 2, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Jessica-Rose Clark (red gloves) and Julija Stoliarenko (blue gloves) fight in a bout during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

2
Mark Smith – 70 UFC fights officiated

Dec 10, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Dricus Du Plessis (blue gloves) reacts after fighting Darren Till (red gloves) during UFC 282 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

1
Herb Dean - 90 UFC fights officiated

Sep 10, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) fights Kevin Holland (blue gloves) during UFC 279 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Check out last year’s numbers here, to compare.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.