Are you wondering who the UFC judges are?
In this article, we provide the full list of UFC judges, who are selected to work a UFC event by the State Athletic Commission overseeing each particular event.
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Who Are the UFC Judges?
While there are over 200 MMA judges, many of whom have judged a UFC event at one time or another, here’s a list of 40 UFC judges who most commonly get sent to the UFC.
In alphabetical order, the UFC judges are:
- Adalaide Byrd
- Anders Ohlsson
- Ben Cartlidge
- Bryan Miner
- Cardo Urso
- Cecil Peoples
- Chris Flores
- Chris Leben
- Chris Lee
- Chris Watts
- Clemens Werner
- Eric Colon
- Darryl Ransom
- David Lethaby
- Dave Hagen
- Dave Tirelli
- David Ginsberg
- Derek Cleary
- Douglas Crosby
- Evan Field
- Fabio Alves
- Gino Garcia
- Glenn Trowbridge
- Guilherme Bravo
- Howard Hughes
- Jacob Montalvo
- Jeff Mullen
- Junachiro Kamijo
- Marcel Varela
- Marcos Rosales
- Mark Collett
- Mike Bell
- Paul Barton
- Paul Sutherland
- Patrick Patlan
- Richard Bertrand
- Ron McCarthy
- Sal D’Amato
- Steve Armstrong
- Tony Weeks
Here’s a closer look at the top 10 UFC judges in terms of number of UFC events judged and/or current activity. The stats are true as of the last UFC event in 2023, UFC 296.
1. Sal D’Amato
While technically there aren’t any ‘UFC judges’ because judges are delegated to UFC events by the State Athletic Commissions, Sal D’Amato may as well be considered a UFC judge because he’s a judge at nearly every UFC event.
- Sal D’Amato is ranked 1 for UFC decisions with 891.
- Most busy UFC judge in 2020 – 77 decisions in 29 events.
- Second busiest UFC judge in 2019 – 58 decisions in 19 events.
Hearing the name Sal D’amato brings up a lot of controversy, as many fans believe he’s made some very poor decisions over the years.
However, when you’ve judged as many UFC fights as he has, it’s only natural that a few mistakes are made along the way.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- Scored 48-47 in favor of Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 47, despite the other two judges scoring it 49-46 to Sean Strickland.
Overall though, and more so in recent years, Sal D’Amato has been a pretty good UFC judge.
2. Derek Cleary
Derek Cleary has been judging UFC fights since 2012 and has been very active during this time, as evidenced by being ranked 2 for UFC decisions with 568.
Derek Cleary is one of the most controversial UFC judges around. Some fans believe him to be a good judge while others believe him to be terrible.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- He was criticized for his scoring in the fight between Henry Cejudo and Aljamain Sterling, where he scored the fifth round in favor of Sterling.
- He was criticized for his 49-46 score in favor of Islam Makhachev against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284.
3. Chris Lee
Chris Lee has been an MMA/UFC judge for over 17 years and is ranked 3 for UFC decisions with 560.
Eric Colon’s reputation in the MMA judging community is somewhat mixed but mostly negative.
He’s frequently known for being the dissenting voice in split decisions, which has made him one of the more recognizable names among MMA judges.
Typically, in the realm of MMA judging, gaining notoriety for such reasons is often viewed negatively.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- Chris Lee was heavily criticized for Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann, which he scored 29-28 in favor of Sanchez.
- One of his worst decisions was awarding a 48-47 score in favor of Paul Felder, in his fight against Rafael Dos Anjos in 2020. The other two judges scored the fight 50-45 in favor of RDA.
Some fans called for Chris Lee to be banned because of how bad this judging was.
4. Junichiro Kamijo
Junichiro Kamijo is ranked 4 for UFC decisions with 369 and has been judging since 2011. He was also an MMA and kickboxing referee from 2008 until 2019. He’s an American and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Junichiro has managed to avoid major controversial decisions and has been one of the lowest deviating judges in his career. This means he’s had similar scorecards to most media outlets who also score UFC fights.
Junichiro’s main criticism is that he favors grapplers and places too much emphasis on submission attempts.
Overall, though, Junichiro Kamijo is considered one of the best UFC judges around.
5. Tony Weeks
Tony Weeks is one of the most experienced MMA judges still working in 2023/2024, having started in 2001. He’s ranked 5 for UFC decisions with 368.
Tony Weeks is also a boxing referee and has refereed over 870 bouts, having started his career in 1994. He was heavily criticized for his recent controversial Romero-Barroso stoppage in June 2023.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- Scored 29-28 in favor of Leonard Garcia in his fight against Nam Phan (as did Adalaide Byrd).
Junichiro Kamijo, on the other hand, scored it 30-27 for Nam Phan, as did the overwhelming majority of media outlets who scored the bout. It’s considered one of the worst split decisions of all time.
6. Mike Bell
Mike Bell, or Michael Bell, has been an MMA/UFC judge since 2013 and is ranked 6 for UFC decisions with 356.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- Scored 29-28 in favor of Priscila Cachoeira against Ji Yeon Kim. This was considered a terrible decision.
- Scored the fifth round 10-8 for Alexa Grasso when she was defending her title against Valentina Shevchenko in September 2023. This was never a 10-8 round in a million years.
It was so bad that Dana White said, “When I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8, I’m like, this guy should be f****** investigated for this. This is the craziest s*** I’ve ever seen in my life.
You have to have the best of the best in title fights. So they’ve assured me that this guy isn’t a bad guy, he just f***** up and made a mistake, and it’s unfortunate, and there’s no way in hell that was a 10-8 round.”
7. Douglas Crosby
Douglas Crosby is the most experienced UFC judge on this list, first judging 3 fights at UFC 28 in 2000. He’s currently ranked 7 for UFC decisions with 289.
Unfortunately, his experience hasn’t helped him, as he’s earned a reputation as being one of the worst UFC judges since the start of 2017, often dissenting and making many poor decisions.
Some of his most controversial decisions include:
- Heavily criticized for his 50-45 score in favor of Frankie Edgar in his first title fight against B.J. Penn. It’s considered one of the worst scorecards in UFC title fight history.
- Scored 29-28 in favor of Paddy Pimblett in the fight against Jared Gordon.
As a result of his poor judging, Douglas Crosby has been under investigation by State Athletic Commissions at least twice in his career.
He was first investigated after he scored 30-27 in favor of Jorge Masvidal in his 2015 fight against Al Iaquinta. It was revealed that he’d had a longtime dispute with one of Al’s coaches, Ray Longo.
Despite this, Crosby faced no formal accountability, reflecting a broader issue with the nature of MMA judging.
8. Eric Colon
Eric Colon has been a UFC judge since 2007, with his first event being UFC 78. He has a great understanding of the sport as he’s a 3rd-degree black belt in Bjj and has been training since 15 years old.
He’s ranked 8 for UFC decisions with 265 and is generally considered a decent MMA judge as he’s avoided any major controversial decisions. He also judges Muay Thai.
9. Ron McCarthy
Ron McCarthy is the son of MMA and UFC referee legend, ‘Big’ John McCarthy. He’s ranked 15 for UFC decisions with 170 and he has been a staple UFC judge in recent years.
His most well-known and controversial decision came at UFC 282 when he scored 29-28 in favor of Paddy Pimblett over Jared Gordon. Many fans believe Gordon won the fight and the decision was a robbery.
10. David Lethaby
David Lethaby isn’t in the top 20 for UFC decisions but has been a common judge at UFC events in recent years. He started judging MMA fights in 2013 but it wasn’t until 2018 that he worked a UFC event.
For the most part, David Lethaby has avoided controversial decisions and has a reputation as a good UFC judge.
However, his most controversial decision was in the fight between Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley, in which he scored 29-28 in favor of O’Malley. Most fans and those involved in the industry scored it 30-27 to Petr Yan.
Who won that fight? #UFC280
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 22, 2022
