The Nevada Athletic Commission unanimously selected the judges and referees for UFC 200 fight week on Tuesday, although it did so with some objection. Following the nomination of veteran referee "Big" John McCarthy to oversee the light heavyweight title rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones at UFC 200, NAC executive director Bob Bennett revealed that a representative from Jones' camp filed a concern over McCarthy refereeing the match.
"Earlier this morning, I did receive at 8:18 an e-mail from the Jones camp, from Mr. (Malki) Kawa, expressing his concerns regarding referee John McCarthy in this fight," Bennett said. "Upon review of his complaints or his concerns, I did some research, and I certainly respect the comments that he made, but I do not think they are significant enough to deter me from moving from my initial recommendation."
McCarthy, a man considered to be the godfather of MMA judging, was ultimately selected by the commission to oversee Cormier-Jones 2 by a unanimous vote. The judges assigned to the match were Las Vegas regulars Derek Cleary, Sal D'Amato, and Glenn Trowbridge.
UFC 200 takes place July 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by three title fights, as Miesha Tate also looks to defend her bantamweight title over Amanda Nunes, while Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo vie for the interim featherweight title.
For Tate-Nunes, the NAC assigned Herb Dean to referee and Adalaide Bryd, Chris Lee, and Jeff Mullen as judges. Likewise for Aldo-Edgar 2, the NAC assigned Marc Godddard to referee and Junichiro Kamijo, Marcos Rosales, and Tony Weeks as judges.
The commission also voted on officials for the two title fights that headline the two additional UFC events during International Fight Week.
In the case of the lightweight title bout between Rafael dos Anjos vs. Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 90, Herb Dean will serve as referee, while the trio of Derek Cleary, Sal D'Amato, and Junichiro Kamijo will serve as judges.
As for the strawweight title rematch between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale, "Big" John McCarthy will serve as referee, while Jeff Mullen, Marco Rosales, and Dave Hagen will serve as judges.