UFC News: Curtis Blaydes criticises top MMA referee

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has publicly criticised the performance of referee Dan Miragliotta during last weekend's fight between Alistair Overeem and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Overeem had been comfortably dominating the fight until the dying seconds of the final round, when Rozenstruik landed a devastating right hand, which caused enough damage to convince Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight immediately.

Curtis Blaydes had a vested interest in the fight, not only as a fellow heavyweight, but also as a training partner of Overeem's. In a statement made to the South China Morning Post, Blaydes suggested that referee Dan Miragliotta allowed himself to be influenced by the body language of Rozenstruik, who walked away from Overeem after landing the blow in the dying seconds...

“Big Dan, he allowed Rozenstruik’s body language and how he walked off to control the outcome of that fight, as opposed to him being the referee and him being the one in control. I think he allowed Rozenstruik to tell him the fight was over. It’s a five-round fight, and these are big dudes. I’m not going to condemn Big Dan, because that’s a hard job. It’s a job I don’t envy, and I’m not going to condemn him for [his decision]. But do I think it was premature stoppage? Yes.”

Regardless of whether the stoppage was premature or not, the victory over Alistair Overeem has catapulted Rozenstruik into the top 5 of the UFC heavyweight rankings. So it is safe to assume that Curtis Blaydes will be keeping a keen eye on what's next for the Surinamese powerhouse.