Herzog was ever the professional when addressing these criticisms.
Referees in MMA often receive flack for not owning up to their questionable calls or mishaps. However, the same can not be said about Jason Herzog.
Herzog was one of the many referees who worked at the UFC‘s return to London, which was headlined by Tom Aspinall vs Marcin Tybura. Before that contest though, was the veteran referee’s last fight of the night, as he was the third man in the Octagon for the co-main event throwdown between Molly McCann and Julija Stoliarenko.
The bout between McCann and Stoliarenko would end up being a quick one, with the Lithuanian getting an armbar in less than two minutes. However, there was a bit of controversy, as many felt like it took Jason Herzog too long to step in when McCann was furiously tapping to the dangerous submission.
While most referees would shy away from the criticisms, or even defend their actions, this was not the case for Herzog. Instead, he took to Twitter after the fight, acknowledging that the stoppage was not his best, and saying he was caught in between positions when the tap occured.
It is nice to see Jason Herzog taking accountability when he was in a less than ideal situation for stopping a fight. The fact of the matter is, this kind of response from officials is all it would take to make a large portion of the fan base satisfied and move on from bad stoppages or questionable decisions, and it is important to highlight those who speak up when there is backlash.
