UFC on Versus 4 Results: Poor Officiating Continues to Plague the Sport of MMA

The dust from UFC on Versus 4 has settled, and the event will be remembered for two things above all else: Nate Marquardt's sudden dismissal from the UFC and Cheick Kongo's unbelievable comeback victory over fellow kickboxer Pat Barry.

However, there is something else about UFC on Versus 4 that no one is discussing that needs to be remembered: Poor officiating was a serious issue on the card, and it continues to plague the sport of mixed martial arts.

There were specific instances in which the referees at UFC on Versus 4 failed in their task to properly officiate the bout. The most egregious of which was none other than the illegal knee landed on Nik Lentz by Charles Oliveira.

Lentz was clearly grounded; knee strikes to the head of a grounded opponent are illegal under the unified rules of mixed martial arts, but referee Chip Snider apparently didn't know, see, or care. Snider just let the fight continue, and Oliveira was able to swarm and eventually submit a dazed Lentz because of the devastating foul.

There was yet another example of poor officiating later in the night. Referee Mark Matheny stood up welterweights Rick Story and Charlie Brenneman while Story was in the midst of securing a submission hold. Standing fighters up from such a position is ridiculous; Story could have ended the fight if given more time!

The referees in general were very vocal throughout the night, especially Chip Snider. Whenever fighters would clinch, or there was a momentary pause in the action, Snider would immediately begin to warn the fighters about timidity and tell them to step it up.

Such "pep talks" given by Snider to the fighters are useless and show ignorance. Most of the time when Snider was almost heckling the fighters, they were working for takedowns, or were feeling each other out in the stand-up; not every fight can be Takayama vs. Frye.

Officiating will inevitably get better as younger people who grew up with the sport become referees, but the sport and the fans are hurt by such ignorance and poor decisions; a perfect referee is seen but not heard unless it's necessary (such as when a foul occurs or when the fighters really are stalling).

Thankfully, MMA has John McCarthy, Herb Dean, Dan Miragliotta and others who properly obey the tenets of good officiating. The sport would be lost without them.

Matt Saccaro is a Bleacher Report featured columnist and an avid MMA fan. For articles like the one above and for brilliant 140 character insights into MMA, follow him on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/MattSaccaro