A former UFC champion has had issues with one referee in particular ever since a controversial moment.
Being an official in MMA is often a thankless job that comes with a lot of scrutiny and pressure.
As Herb Dean showed at UFC Paris, even the most experienced referees in the sport can find themselves receiving instant backlash from the fans.
A bad call being made by the third man inside the Octagon is something that many fighters have had to deal with in their careers, including the contestants of a recent Dana White’s Contender Series episode.
While one of the most high-profile examples of an athlete publicly voicing his frustrations happened over five years ago, this is a wound that doesn’t appear to have healed in the slightest.
- MMA THROWBACK: Joe Rogan set new rule on interviewing fighters after bizarre phantom submission claim
Dominick Cruz still holds a grudge against referee Keith Peterson for his UFC 249 stoppage
In May of 2020, the UFC returned after a brief hiatus in the COVID-19 pandemic to host UFC 249 behind closed doors, where Justin Gaethje dominated Tony Ferguson in their interim lightweight title fight.
The co-main event saw Dominick Cruz challenge Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight title where ‘The Dominator’ was stopped right as the second round was about to end.
Cruz was incredibly critical of referee Keith Peterson over the stoppage, accusing the official of smelling like alcohol and cigarettes during the post-fight show.
Cruz recently spoke about this controversial moment during his appearance on Demetrious Johnson’s MightyCast, making it perfectly clear that he still holds a grudge towards the official.
While Peterson has earned the nickname ‘No Nonsense’, the former UFC bantamweight champion believes that he listened to Cejudo, who was trying to get the fight stopped, rather than making his own call.
“I’m up and there’s one second left on the clock and ‘all nonsense’ Keith Peterson is a complete f— up for that. It’s the only sporting event in the world. There’s one second left on the clock, I’m on my feet, I did my job as a fighter and he failed as a referee. A complete failure… You’re a weakling. You’re a weak human for that so get your life together and come back.”
- LATEST NEWS: Kayla Harrison teases huge UFC White House fight with ‘special someone’ – and it’s not Amanda Nunes
Dominick Cruz requested that Keith Peterson not be the referee for any of his remaining fights
Dominick Cruz announced his retirement earlier this year which sets him up to likely enter the UFC Hall of Fame at some point over the next few years.
‘The Dominator’ did compete three more times after his loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 249, where he had one request.
Cruz said ahead of his UFC 259 return at the media day that he had requested for Keith Peterson to not be his referee going forward because he didn’t “feel safe”.
“I’ve never felt that energy from a referee other than him. So as a result, I don’t feel safe with that man. That’s all I can say. Everybody else, cool, let’s go.”