There were no female fights on the UFC 328 card in Newark, New Jersey, but a female referee’s debut during the prelims caught the audience’s attention and sent fans reaching back to the UFC’s first female official.

During the flyweight fight between Jose Ochoa and Clayton Carpenter on the UFC 328 prelims, fans were surprised to witness the debut of female referee Giovanna Scano. Though it was her first UFC assignment, Scano came in with considerable experience officiating fights. According to Sherdog, she began her professional refereeing career around 2019 and has worked for promotions like Cage Fury and PFL.

That experience appeared to pay off, as Scano remained highly professional throughout the three rounds of the flyweight bout, which Ochoa won by unanimous decision without much controversy. However, her debut quickly led fans to wonder whether she was the first female referee to officiate a UFC fight. One boldly noted on X: “First female UFC ref ever? Giovanna Scano?”

That distinction belongs to Kim Winslow, who made her UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20th, 2009.

She entered the Octagon in 2009 to officiate the undercard bout between Nick Osipczak and Frank Lester. While there was little fanfare at the time, announcer Joe Rogan noted the historic moment during the broadcast.

“I think this is the first time we’ve ever had a female referee. I just noticed that,” Rogan remarked.

Though there have been a few others like Camila Albuquerque since then, despite the historic nature of her debut, Kim Winslow quickly became one of the more polarizing officials in the sport during her time, drawing criticism for stoppages that fans viewed as either too early or too late.

Most notably, former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate criticized Winslow for prematurely stopping her fight against Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale after she took a series of brutal knees to the face. 

Tate was visibly furious, later stating that there’s “no way in hell I’d let Kim Winslow referee another fight of mine.” While the former champion protested, others, including UFC CEO Dana White, defended the stoppage.

As a result, Winslow went on to officiate several more UFC bouts, with her final appearance being the Emily Kagan vs Angela Hill women’s strawweight bout in 2014 at the TUF 20 Finale. Now, after Giovanna Scano’s UFC debut, fans were quick to revive the conversation around Winslow online and share their reactions to the female referee stepping inside the Octagon.

Fans recall officiating horrors after a female referee’s debut at UFC 328

One fan online immediately remarked, “I don’t remember the last time a female ref officiated in the UFC, especially during a men’s fight. Anyone know?” To this, another fan replied, “Kim Winslow. Notoriously ruthless… Cyborg vs. Finney comes to mind.”

The reference was to a June 2010 Strikeforce bout between Cris Cyborg and Jan Finney, where Winslow faced heavy criticism for allowing Cyborg to continue punishing her opponent before eventually stopping the fight in the second round.

As the discussion continued, another user wrote, “Jesus, you’re a young one aren’t ya Finz? Kim Winslow used to ref a long time ago.” Soon after, another fan brought up Scano’s own controversial moment, writing, “She almost got someone killed on PFL last time I saw her.”

Here, the fan’s comment was in reference to Giovanna Scano’s appearance at the PFL World Tournament 8: 2025 Finals, where she officiated Nathan Kelly vs. Frederic Dupras. During that bout, Scano moved to the wrong side of the action and appeared to miss a guillotine choke attempt from Dupras. As a result, Kelly went unconscious before the fight was stopped, prompting criticism of her positioning and reaction time.

Despite that history, her UFC debut drew largely positive reviews. One user wrote, “She did a great job!! Hopefully, we see her again soon!” Scano kept the fight under control very well despite her debut assignment being one of the promotion’s biggest cards of the year.

Whether the UFC brings her back remains to be seen, but her debut gave the promotion a competent showing from a referee pool that has historically skewed heavily male.