News List

One on One with MMA Referee Steve Perceval

3/30/2009

The following interview was published in Ultimate Fightsports Issue 1, page 50

1. Thank you for the interview. Tell us what made you become an MMA referee?
I first started as a BJJ referee and have always been a massive fan of the UFC so when MMA shows started in Sydney I thought it would be a great opportunity to try my hand at becoming an MMA referee. In my first MMA show as a referee I was asked to ref the main event between Hector Lombard and Fabio Galeb, so that was a great introduction in refereeing.

2. You were the first to receive a certificate from legendary Big John
McCarthy in one of his ref courses, how did that feel?
I travelled to the USA to attend Big Johns first MMA Referee and Judges course, the course was limited to 20 people from all over America & Canada but I was the only Aussie to attend. Big John is one of the nicest guys I could ever hope to meet, he was really impressed that I had travelled all that way to attend his course. As I had to return to Australia John pulled me aside and presented me with my certificate telling me that I was the first person to receive their certificate. It was a great honour and I am very proud of my achievement as one of only 5 who passed the course.

I was also given an opportunity to teach a BJJ class for Big John while at his gym in Valencia, that was an incredible honour for me.

3. What made you travel to the U.S. to undergo the Big John McCarthy course?
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a bit of a perfectionist, MMA refereeing is no different, I wanted to know everything about refereeing and as we did not have any courses or training for referees here I had no choice but to go overseas. I thought I would contact UFC legendary referee Big John McCarthy to see if he had any courses available, it was a strange coincidence because Big John was putting together his first course at that time. Big John is a very inspirational man and his knowledge of the rules and cage craft is the best in the world and my decision to participate in the course is one of the best decisions of my life.

4. How much pressure do you feel as a referee during a fight?
I don’t really feel any pressure, the reason is that I am confident in my knowledge of the rules and ability to control the fight, I am the most experienced MMA referee in Australia and I’m only in there for the safety of the fighters. I am serious and very passionate about my job as an MMA referee, I pride myself on being the most professional referee possible and I constantly evaluate my own performance as an MMA referee after every show.

5. There’s always controversial stoppages, so when do you know when to stop
an MMA fight?
That is a very complex question to answer, there are so many circumstances to consider before stopping a fight. Before a fight I talk to all the fighters and run through the most common rules that fighters break during the fight and its at this time I tell all the fighters that I want to give them every opportunity to continue fighting out of a bad situation but if they are not intelligently defending themselves then I will stop the fight. If it’s possible I will warn them first to give them the chance to fight their way out but it doesn’t always work out that way. In a fight there are flash knockdowns where fighters go out and then for one reason or another snap out of it relatively quickly, as a referee I have to make a split second decision to either stop the fight or let it continue. I do not have the luxury of slow motion replay or seeing it replayed 3 or 4 times to make my decision, so I have to rely on my experience and make a educated decision on the spot.

6. Crowds sometimes boo at a stoppage, does that ever get to you?
No not really, the crowd are there to see good hard fights and maybe a knockout or two, if they think that a referee has stopped a fight prematurely then they voice their opinion. I know the crowd cannot see the fight as well as I can, I am usually 2 to 3 feet away from the action with a clear unobstructed view of the fight. The crowd are a lot further away with other crowd members, the cage, photographers and a referee obstructing their view, not to mention the possibility of being intoxicated. I have only been booed twice and it didn’t worry me at all as I know I made the right decision for the fighter and his safety.

7. Fighter safety is constantly drilled into MMA fans, how important is that to get across to them?

This is paramount, there are a lot of people out there who think MMA is a dangerous sport, a form of human cock fighting without rules, I would love to change their opinion but that’s unrealistic and not going to happen. That’s why we need professional well educated referees who will make the right decision for the fighters, not the crowd and definitely not their corner men. Lets not forget most fighters are in there to test their skills and ability, they do not make a lot of money out of the fight and most have jobs and families which they need to return to after the fight is over. The last thing we need in our sport is for someone to be badly injured or die due to letting the fight go on to long.

8. What do you say to a fighter who wants to continue with a fight, that you have just stopped due to his safety?
Once I stop the fight that’s it, it’s stopped and there is no way it will continue. There have been very few fighters who have thought that I stopped the fight prematurely, however when this has happened I try to explain to the fighter the reason that I stopped the fight, if they don’t want to listen then I let them go to leave the cage, hopefully they allow me the courtesy of explaining at a later date. It’s funny because I had this situation recently in CFC 7 when I stopped the title fight between Bernardo Treko and Rob Hill. Rob had dropped Bernardo with an uppercut, got his back and proceeded to hit him while Bernardo covered up on the ground in a turtle position. I stopped the fight when Bernard went out, the only way I could tell this as I couldn’t see his face was his arms and body went limp, as I moved into stop the fight Bernardo came out of it but it was too late I had already stopped Rob from inflicting anymore damage to Bernardo. Bernard claimed that he was ok and he thought I stopped the fight prematurely, that’s fine, that’s his opinion. I pride myself on being the most professional referee I can be and I would hate to think that a mistake of mine could cost a fighter a title or their livelihood but the situation was clear, Bernardo took a lot of unanswered punches and when I saw him go limp I had no choice but to stop the fight. The next day I had the opportunity to view the video footage of the fight and although shot from a different angle it was clear to me and the others watching that I had made the correct decision and undoubtedly saved Bernardo from taking any further unnecessary punishment. After the fight I copped a lot of booing from the audience and a bad rap from Bernardo on the microphone but that didn’t worry me because I knew I had made the right decision.

9. What are your thoughts on the government in Australia regarding Mixed Martial Arts?
This is fantastic for MMA, it’s now a legitimate sport in NSW. I have spoken with the sports minister’s representative who has been given the task of setting up the Combat Sports Authority in NSW. The Combat Sports Authority will oversee and regulate all combat sports including MMA in NSW, I have offered my expertise to assist them with setting up the rules and regulations for the MMA.

10. What would you like to see happen to MMA in Australia for the future?
I would like to see that all the states adopt the same rules and regulations, we do not need to reinvent the wheel we should follow the rules for MMA set by the Athletics commission in the USA, who incidentally are now advised by Big John McCarthy.

11. Any final comments?

I would like to thank Ultimate FightSports for this interview and the chance to give MMA fans an insight into a referee’s perspective. I love MMA and will do my best to promote it in any way possible. We need to support our local fighters, promoters and media by buying magazines, DVD’s and going to MMA shows, this will help MMA grow as an industry which will guarantee better shows and improve our already talented Aussie fighters.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Hector Lombard all the best and good luck when fighting in the new ESPN Bellator competition in the USA.

Thank you Elie.
Steve Perceval

CFC 7 – The Battle of the Big Top

3/24/2009

Middleweight Championship bout

84kg

Ron Verdadero v Hector “Shango” Lombard

Crowd favourite and CFC veteran Hector “Shango” Lombard returned to Sydney to defend his championship belt against the tough Hawaiian Ron Verdadero.

After a warm welcome, Shango wasted no time landing a big right hand that put Verdadero down. Lombard chased in, but Verdadero was already recovering from the hook. Lombard took the opportunity to get his stunned opponent’s back, standing up and delivering a huge suplex that almost put Verdadero out again. Quick to finish it off, Lombard delivered some vicious ground strikes, eventually forcing the TKO.

Hector left with another win and title defence, and dedicated his performance to the country he now calls home - Australia. His most devastating performance to date, it will be intriguing to see how he matches up to the stiffer competition in the US.

Lightweight Championship bout

70kg

Rob Hill v Bernardo Trekko

Controversy reigned in the final round of the Eliminator tournament from the CFC#6 card, as comeback kid Rob Hill took on undefeated Brazilian Bernardo Trekko.

Trekko opened his account with a stiff right that caught Hill by surprise but did not damage him. A clearly stunned Hill turned angry, starting to work his strikes and forcing Trekko to search for his ground skills. Trekko landed a takedown from the clinch but Hill was quick to get back to his feet. Trekko relentlessly worked Hill for another takedown from the clinch, succeeding again.

Trekko worked his way to half guard before Hill, trying to escape, gave up his back but the round ended before Trekko could use the advantage.

The opening of the second round saw a fierce exchange, with Trekko getting another takedown only for Hill to capitalise by reversing and landing a couple of monster punches that went undefended. Hill, utilising his tremendous ground striking through the Brazilian’s guard, earned his way to a TKO victory and a world championship.

There was some confusion in the stoppage as Trekko seemed unharmed when he rose. But senior referee Steve Perceval saw that Trekko had been “flash” KO’d and as he was showing no defense, intelligently called the stoppage. In true Brazilian style, drama erupted cageside with Trekko’s corner attempting to storm the cage, one succeeding, walking straight up to Perceval waving his finger directly in front of the referee’s face. It was neither calm, nor respectful.

A poor end to the night for a well-deserved champion. A little respect from both the crowd and opposition corner was poorly lacking.

Fight 7 - 70kg

Adrian “The Hunter” Pang v Denis Kelly

Irishman Kelly came out striking, but slipped a quick kick to the groin of Pang. The fight was stalled to allow Pang recovery. Kelly apologised and the fight resumed. Both exchange and briefly clinch.

Pang forced his way inside to clinch. Moving to the Thai clinch, he slipped a knee on Kelly that stunned him. Pang dragged his opponent to the ground but was unable to finish him off.

Pang methodically struck from the guard of Kelly, turning it up toward the end of the round where he landed some solid elbows. But, with the clock having run out, Pang could not take the victory at that point.

The start of the second round saw Pang come out kicking, but Kelly managed to counter with the right hand. Pang fought his way back, landing a combo that put Kelly down. This time, the Irishman did not have luck on his side and “The Hunter” went on to finish the fight by TKO.

Fight 6 - 65kg

Richie Vas v Ross Macleod

Sydney-based pro surfer Richie Vas made short work of his opponent Ross Macleod. Hitting a huge right overhand, Vas left MacLeod on the floor, much to the delight of the fans. There’s nothing like a 12 second stoppage to get a crowd on its feet, let alone a largely parochial one.

Fight 5 - 77kg

Jon Leven v Chris “The White Sniper” Johnson

Both fighters came out swinging. Leven showed no fear of his world-class kickboxing opponent, and with good reason as he quickly muscled his way inside Johnson and threw the New Zealander to the mat. From here Leven moved straight to the mount and took Johnson’s back soon after.

After a scramble, the fighters got back to their feet. Johnson was looking to use his striking pedigree to open up on Leven, but again Leven persevered and went to take Johnson down. There was a break called for a cage grab in this clinch.

Johnson landed a couple of hard shots on Leven before being taken down once again. Leven worked hard to secure position, taking mount and full back control quickly. He then worked for a choke that forced Johnson to tap out.

A side note to this fight is that Chris Johnson had only five weeks training in ground fighting before taking this fight.

Fight 4 - 70kg

Tony Ourico v Jason Harris

Harris went into this fight aggressively but was taken down by Brazillian fighter Ourico. Moving to half guard, Ourico threw an unnoticed knee to the head of Harris. Still in half guard working ground and pound, Ourico threw another knee to Harris’ head, stalling the fight while the referee tended to the matter. Harris took his time to recover, clearly shaken by the strikes. Ourico, seemingly confused by the ruling, received a warning and the fight resumed when Harris said he was able to continue.

Harris came back with some solid leg kicks and worked to clinch his opponent. Some loose knees were thrown from both fighters before Harris found himself hanging onto a guillotine choke. Harris pulled guard to try and secure the submission, but the experienced jui-jitsu fighter in Ourico emerged and he passed to the mount.

Round 1 finished with Ourico on Harris’ back. Although Ourico fought off a choke, he seemed to be in more control of this round.

Harris again came out aggressively at the start of the second round, throwing a variety of strikes from leg kick to spinning back fist. Nothing significant landed and Ourico moved in to take the clinch and avoid more strikes. After an even wilder clinching episode, Harris wanted nothing to do with it, uppercutting his way from Ourico’s grasp and moving back to his favourite position of striking.

Harris found a good groove, landing leg kicks and really mixing his strikes, using superman punches and high kicks to set up his punches.

Harris slipped late in the round, giving Ourico another chance to clinch. Ourico took the back, though Harris was quick to get back into half guard. Harris pushed Ourico away and the round finished with Harris throwing up kicks at his opponent from his back.

A close round for both fighters. Harris coming out slightly more aggressive gave him this round.

The final round was uneventful and saw the two men spending most of their time clinching, with no significant strikes thrown. Ourico pushed for several takedowns without landing any. Harris tried body shots in the clinch but did not phase Ourico. Ourico did little while clinching, forcing a break. Neither threw any committing strikes.

As the round drew to a close, Ourico tried one more takedown but failed to get it in time.

The fight goes to deserved Jason Harris by judge’s decision.

Fight 3 - 105kg

Jeff King v Lucas Browne

Jeff King charged in to start the fight, ending up clinched and pressed against the cage by 117kg Kung Fu practitioner Lucas Browne. Browne was much stronger in the clinch, bullying his opponent to the mat where he worked efficient elbows and forearm strikes. Moving to side control, Browne continued his assault on the now bloody King. King worked his way back to guard but was met with a massive elbow strike from Browne.

After a scramble from the guard, King found fortune in his favour, as he ended up reversing position to side control on Browne. This did not last long as Browne created a scramble of his own and got back to the dominant position, though King worked his guard back.

King, going for an armbar late in the round, wound up slammed hard by the powerful Browne who dropped some huge fists on his stunned adversary. The fight was called soon after.

Lucas Browne wins by TKO.

Fight 2 - 62kg

Kian “Karnage” Pham v Phil Lai

Victorian Phil Lai started the fight well. With an air of confidence he looks to pick his shots, working a clinch and landing some solid knees to the midsection of Kian Pham. During the clinch game, Pham jumped to guard only to be put down hard on his back by Lai. On the ground, Lai continued to work and advance position on a relatively flat looking Pham. Lai attempted to take a knee, but aborted and went back into half guard where he worked in some more strikes.

The fight stagnated, forcing the referee to stand the pair up.

Standing, Lai tried showboating with windmill punches and a Nick Diaz-esque cockiness. Nothing from Lai landed but he did get the crowd worked up.

Round 1 ended with Pham finally working a takedown, but with no time to do anything with it.

Round 2 began with some strikes, including a kick to the groin on Pham that the referee failed to notice. More loose strikes were thrown before “Karnage” came alive, landing a takedown and advancing position quickly to half guard. Pham worked his way to the back of his opponent quickly, grabbing a rear naked choke and forcing the tap out from Lai.

Although cocky through the fight, Lai respectfully acknowledged the talent displayed by his opponent.

Fight 1 - 93kg

Rawdon Lee v Hohepa Ngarimu

The opening fight started off with some moderate striking from both fighters until Roots Jiu Jitsu-trained Rawdon Lee pushed for a clinch, dragging his opponent down a few moments later.

On the ground Lee worked hard with some solid ground and pound, opening his opponent Ngarimu up and moving to half guard as a result.

With Ngarimu flat on his back, Lee worked some more ground and pound until he found Ngarimu’s neck wide open and applied a forearm choke. Ngarimu tried to defend but the weight of Lee was too much, the choke sinking deep enough to force the submission.

Lee wins by forearm choke.

Be back at Luna Park May 22 2009 for CFC 8. For more go to www.cfcworld.com.au

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Events legalised

12/29/2008
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Events have been legalised by the NSW Government as of the 27th November 2008, this move will make NSW the MMA AEvents capital of Australia. Read more...

Steve Perceval holds amazing 3 hour workshop

9/11/2008

On Saturday 25th August 2008, Steve Perceval held a 3 hour workshop for MMA Referee’s and Judges, the objective was to cover the general rules used in MMA events, to go over some of the more common rules that fighters break while in the cage/ring and to go through the scoring process used for judging MMA bouts. The workshop had practical demonstrations covering cage positioning and movement of the referee during the fight and how a referee should determine when the fight has stalled and the fighters need to be stood or broken up. Video footage was also used to score a fight and to demonstrate how the referee’s actions in a positive or negative way impact on the fighters and possibly the outcome of the fight. All the participants said that they found the workshop very beneficial and informative and they felt their knowledge in both the rules and scoring had greatly improved by the end of the workshop. The participants are all eager to complete the MMAOA referees and judges accreditation course. In 2009, Steve Perceval and Kon Pappy will be holding MMAOA, referees and judges accreditation course. The officials course will be a 2 day course where anyone wishing to become an accredited MMA official will gain an in depth knowledge of the rules and regulations relating to MMA, this accreditation will be essential for anyone wishing to referee or judge an MMA event in Australia. There will also be separate accreditation courses and register for the fighters and their coaches/corner men, this will be a one day course which will cover the general rules and regulations for the cage/ring, and to ensure that the coaches/corner men meet the MMAOA requirements to be a registered corner man. This will be an annual course to keep the fighters and their coaches/corner men up to date with the requirements of the MMAOA. The MMAOA are committed to producing professionally qualified officials so promoters can be confident that their MMA event will run smoothly when using MMAOA accredited officials. Shown below are just some of the attendees at the workshop.

MMA Officials Website Launched

9/11/2008
Stage one is now online, when finished promises to be awesome. A complete and far reaching website that will act as the central core for all MMA Officials activities. The website is currently under construction but also visible online, each day the team of web designers from the sports specialists AussiePeople add more to the site, so it’s fair to say it’s a work in progress. The plans for the website are far reaching, with a planned online MMA officials Registry which will hold the names, designations and contact details of all officials from the President down to every financial member. This will be a great bonus to promoters and administrators everywhere because they will instantly be able to check the bona-fides of any person negotiating any aspect of a fight promotion. Another feature that is planned is the MMA Officials rankings, this will be an up to date numerical record of where both members, fighters and officials are ranked according to our national accreditation scheme. Speaking of accreditation, that is another entire section that the website will deal with, including course material, testing, and the publication of successful applicants in our MMA Officials Registry. All people will know that when they deal with an accredited MMA official, they are dealing with a person who has passed the most vigorous testing procedure available and are truly worthy of the position they hold. Other important sections will be for the Rules, Services and News as well as a comprehensive contact area. The news will be split up into two sections, permanent archived MMA Officials news, and a live news feed to the major news agency around the world with respect to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). We are currently seeking advertisers and sponsors, as well as interested persons wanting to become officials in the wonderful world of MMA.

Aussie travels to the US for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Referee and Judging course

9/11/2008
On the 1st December 2007 Steve Perceval travelled to California USA to attend the first ever Big John McCarthy MMA referee and Judging accreditation course. Most will know Big John McCarthy as the head referee in the most popular MMA cage fighting event in the world, The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) with his world famous catch phrase and trademark “Let’s Get It On”. Big John has been associated with the UFC in one form or another from its conception and the first UFC where little know Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practioner Royce Gracie tore through the opposition winning the title easily, without a doubt this was the beginning of mixed martial arts as we know it today. Steve Perceval a 4th degree black belt in HapKiDo and Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under John Will and the Machado organisation has his own full time martial arts centre, Ultimate Fighting Arts in Penrith NSW. Earlier this year Steve started his MMA refereeing career and has refereed such events as the Oceania, King of the Cage and more recently was appointed the head referee for the two Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) events held at Luna Park, Sydney. Always wanting to learn more and improve his skills and with no governing body or refereeing courses in Australia Steve took it upon himself to contact Big John McCarthy in the USA and find out if he offers courses and accreditation for MMA Referee’s. Big John responded that he was having his first ever MMA Refereeing and Judging course on December 1st and 2nd 2007 and that it would be open to the first 20 people who applied and paid their deposit, excited by the news Steve immediately sent his payment to secure his spot in the course and then booked his flights to the USA. The comprehensive course which ran for two days consisted of rules and legalities for cage fighting, cage and ring craft for refereeing, demonstration and understanding of techniques used in cage fighting and safety aspects for the fighters. Steve was assessed on his refereeing ability in the cage and ring, his understanding of legal and illegal techniques, his understanding and interpretation of rules, the safety of the fighters and finished the two day course with a written test. Big John and Steve spoke about how Australia has no legalisation or governing body at the present time, Big John explained that it is the Athletic Commissions who govern cage fighting events in the USA and how such organisations are essential to set rules and standards and to control the promoters for the safety of fighters in the ever growing sport. Big John offered Steve his services if needed in the future, if ever Steve needs advice or help in any area of MMA events including the organisation and setting up of a governing body Steve could contact Big John at any time. Steve was the first to receive his certificate from Big John and was one of only 5 who passed the 2007 course. Steve has learnt a lot from the course and looks forward to sharpening his refereeing skills in the next CFC event organised for the 15th February 2008.