Joe Lauzon walked away from UFC 123 with a loss on his record and his arm still intact. He can thank George Sotiropoulos for both.
If you were watching closely, both Lauzon and Sotiropoulos were not pleased with referee Marc Fennel after Sotiropoulos forced Lauzon to tap to a kimura. With good reason: It took Fennel a full two seconds to put his hands on Sotiropoulos after Lauzon signaled for the referee to step in. Two seconds. It doesn’t sound like much, but it feels like an eternity when your hand is being involuntarily thrust toward the back of your head.
I can empathize with referees. A referee does not have an easy job. No matter which sport or at what level, a referee is constantly criticized, scrutinized, heckled, and jeered. Silence is the referee’s affirmation of a job well done. I officiated youth soccer and baseball as a teenager. It’s difficult to make constant split-second decisions at a high rate of success. So, I understand that mistakes are made and calls are blown.
There are things a referee can do to make things easier, however. A firm knowledge of the rules. The confidence to make and the ability to commit to a decision. Being in position to make the call.
And that’s where Marc Fennel failed Joe Lauzon. When Sotiropoulos finishes the kimura, Fennel is somewhere between 10 and 15 feet away, on the opposite side of the arm in danger. It takes him a second to recognize Lauzon’s tap, and another second to dive atop of Sotiropoulos.
Check past the jump for an animated image of the finish.
I’ve highlighted two moments. The first points out Lauzon’s tap. The second highlights Fennel’s distance from the fighters when he recognizes said tap. Google says the Octagon is 32 feet in diameter (corner to opposite corner) and each side is 30 feet across from one another. Fennel is just below the equator of the Bud Light ad while Lauzon and Sotiropoulos are a foot or two inside the black ring. Considering those facts and how far Fennel has to dive by the eyeball, I’d estimate he was somewhere around 12 feet from the action. Lauzon is fortunate Sotiropoulos had enough awareness to ease up when he felt the tap.