Props: Vigilante MMA
Quoteworthy:
"The ref got too carried away (at UFC 123). He kinda strong-armed me. All he needed to do was let me know, acknowledge the submission so the fight would end. I didn’t want to let go of the arm in case Lauzon continued fighting and then the referee tells us to continue. You know when I used to compete in jiu jitsu, they’d tap or they’d scream and then I’d release it and they’d continue fighting and the bout would continue. So I maintained the submission and even though I had Lauzon’s arm bent back, he wasn’t in any danger of any pressure on the arm, I was just holding it back without any pressure. He tapped out and I just needed the referee to acknowledge that. (But) he pulled me so hard, he went overboard. It really bothered me and it felt like he was strong-arming me. I’ve seen a lot of referees after a knockout or a knockdown or a submission, they jump on the guys and I think one day someone’s going to get hurt the way some referees break up the fight. Like sometimes a guy is grounding and pounding someone and you see them dive on the guy Brock Lesnar style…someone’s gonna get hurt."
UFC lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos speaks out against some of the recent rough-housing he's experienced at the hands of UFC referees as he heads into his UFC 127 bout against Dennis Siver on Feb. 27 in Sydney, Australia. "Sots" maintains that officials need a more hands-off approach to breaking up fights -- but is he being unrealistic? Do referees need to physically restrain a fighter in order to save a fallen combatant? Or do some of the men in black take things a little too far? What's your take?
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