Why is Steve Mazzagatti so infamous? Looking into the controversial MMA referee Israel Adesanya wanted for the Alex Pereira fight

Former UFC referee Steve Mazzagatti is no longer seen inside an octagon after a career marred with controversy. Infamously known as the worst referee in the sport, Mazzagatti has a history of letting fights linger on too long.

To even out things, Mazzagatti also has a record of bizarrely early stoppages, giving away Ronda Rousey a submission win over Sarah D'Alelio even before the armbar was properly locked in.

Dana White went on an iconic 9-minute rant on Mazzagatti in 2013 after the referee failed to notice when Josh Burkman put Jon Fitch to sleep in a World Series of Fighting 3 card. The UFC president said:

"Does anyone disagree with me that Mazzagatti's a f—king toolbox? I mean he literally did nothing. Literally when (Fitch) goes limp, he goes limp, he's out and then (Burkman) rolls him f—king over, lets his head f—king flop to the thing and then stands up over him.

"He's literally like this standing up over him before Mazzagatti even f—king gets in the picture... At what point do you realize that this guy is an incompetent fool and he's going to hurt somebody."

Catch White's comments below:

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When Israel Adesanya asked for Steve Mazzagatti to be brought back for his UFC 281 clash against Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya put his middleweight title on the line against Alex Pereira at UFC 281 last November. 'The Last Stylebender' was looking to avenge two kickboxing losses against the Brazilian, including the lone KO of his career up to that point.

Adesanya jokingly urged Dana White to bring back Steve Mazzagatti for the bout so that he could continue pouring punishment on Pereira even when 'Poatan' is almost knocked out. The Kiwi said on his YouTube channel:

"Dana, bring back Steve Mazzagatti. Bring back Steve Mazzagatti to ref my fight because I want to hear 'fight back' as I'm punching him in the face like 50 times"

Catch Adesanya's comments below:

Israel Adesanya went on to outpoint Pereira for almost the entire fight before suffering a shock-upset KO in the final frame. However, 'The Last Stylebender' has since conquered all his demons by avenging his loss with a vicious KO over Pereira earlier this year.