Joe Rogan thinks some of the judges for UFC events really shouldn’t be allowed at the position in the first place! UFC 308, of course, saw an atrocious decision in its very first fight as Rinat Fakhretdinov won a unanimous decision over Carlos Leal in what is being called a blatant and outright robbery.

But Rogan and his friends on the UFC 308 JRE Fight Companion show weren’t talking about that fight when the subject of judges came up. In fact, they were discussing who they thought won the Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic fight before the decision was read. “Okay, who won this fight? Ankalaev? We’ll see. But you know, decisions are sketchy,” Rogan said. To which Brendan Schaub quickly added, “Especially in Abu Dhabi.” 

This prompted Rogan to go on a mini-rant, explaining how some of the decisions force him to conclude that whoever gave that decision should not be a judge at the highest level of the sport.

“We’ve had some decisions that were f***ing [sketchy]. I think they bring the same judges everywhere [but] I don’t know. I don’t know what the rules are… But I think the judges for the most part are the same judges. I think they are like travelling judges like the judges they think are the good judges. I think some of them are good judges. But every now and then you get a decision where you’re like whoever the f**k thought the fight went that way really shouldn’t be doing this on a professional level,” Rogan said.

After mildly criticizing some of the officials, Rogan went on to explain why UFC cards occasionally have bad refereeing, and unsurprisingly why it comes down to the Athletic Commissions.

Joe Rogan feels local referee quotas lead to bad calls

Joe Rogan revealed that some US Athletic Commissions have a quota of state referees that the UFC (or any other promotion) is required to have on their events. And that, predictably, leads to some iffy refereeing on occasion, according to the UFC commentator.

“I think in some places I know they do [state] referees in some places. So, if, like, say you go to a state like Kentucky, for example, you have to use a certain amount of state referees. And some of them aren’t qualified to be doing the UFC [events]” Rogan said.

Of course, both judges and referees are ultimately chosen by Athletic Commissions, and promotions have no formal say in the process. That is why Dana White is so quick to point out bad judging or referring since that is one of the few ways he can build pressure on the Commissions to get rid of any bad apples. What are your thoughts on Rogan’s revelations about UFC judges and referees?