2011 Mid-Year UFC Awards: Top 5 Referees of the Year

After a long stretch of major MMA events ended with UFC 132, we are now midway through the calender year. As we wait for the MMA schedule to pick back up, Bleacher Report will be taking a look a several different mid-year awards.

This installment will focus on the Referee of the Year in the UFC, which will be handed out to the referee who has done the best job of officiating fights in 2011. Already, there have been plenty of options for the award, but we had to narrow it down to five nominees.

Here are the top five UFC referees from the first half of 2011.

5. Josh Rosenthal

2011 UFC Title Fights Officiated: None

Without having refereed any title fights in 2011, Josh Rosenthal has gone mostly unnoticed for the first seven months of the year. However, for a referee, that is the goal.

The only time good referees should be recognized is for awards such as this and in situations where they are forced to make a difficult decision in a major fight.

For whatever reason, Rosenthal hasn't had the opportunity to officiate a UFC title fight thus far in 2011. Eventually, Rosenthal will get his chance to referee another championship bout, which will almost certainly allow his stock to rise to a new level.

4. Mario Yamasaki

2011 UFC Title Fights Officiated: One (Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort)

One of the most experienced referees in the business, Mario Yamasaki has had a fairly flawless year in the first seven months of 2011.

The biggest fight Yamasaki officiated this year was a UFC Middleweight Championship fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

While Silva made the fight fairly easy to call by flooring Belfort with an amazing front kick, Yamasaki made sure he gave Belfort every opportunity to recover before stepping in.

3. John McCarthy

2011 UFC Title Fights Officiated: One (Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick)

It has been nice to see John McCarthy back in the Octagon after an extended absence from working at UFC events, but his appearances have been far from regular.

Still, in the few events that he has helped officiate, McCarthy has shown why he has become the most well-known and respected referee in the history of the sport.

The lone critique I have of McCarthy's officiating is that he occasionally crosses the line between maintaining control of the fighters and becoming an attention-grabber with his constant instructions.

2. Yves Lavigne

2011 UFC Title Fights Officiated: One (Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard)

It has been a roller coaster of an officiating career for Yves Lavigne. Looking at his entire body of work, it's hard to deny that he is one of the best in the business.

However, Lavigne has unfortunately been remembered most for some of his worst moments, which most recently includes an early stoppage of a fight between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig.

In that fight, Danzig was attempting to fight off a guillotine choke as Lavigne stopped the fight, thinking the Season 6 TUF winner had gone unconscious.

Nonetheless, for the purpose of this award, all referees have been given a clean slate to start 2011, which got off to an excellent start for Lavigne.

Officiating the rematch between UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, Lavigne made an excellent decision to allow a rocked Edgar to continue fighting in the first round.

Had Lavigne stopped the fight, as some other referees very well may have, he would have robbed Edgar of one of the most memorable comebacks in UFC history. More importantly, though, Lavigne would have robbed Edgar of his belt.

1. Herb Dean

2011 UFC Title Fights Officiated: Two (Mauricio Rua vs. Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields)

The only referee to officiate more than one UFC title fight in 2011, Herb Dean has solidified himself as the best in the business.

UFC President Dana White is rarely one to praise referees or judges, so it says a lot that he frequently recognizes that Dean is the best official in the sport.

After UFC 109, White made a point to praise Dean after his stoppage of a fight between Paulo Thiago and Mike Swick.

According to MMA Junkie, White said, "If you had to do a highlight reel of great stoppages, incredible stoppages, the entire highlight reel would be Herb Dean." 

"When Herb Dean does s--t, I don't even question it anymore. I wait for the replay. This guy sees s--t that I can't see sitting there watching the monitor."

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter   MMA" class="aptureLink aptureLink snap_noshots snap_noshots">here.