Leading third men: The five referees who oversaw the most UFC fights in 2020

This year was wild not only for fighters, promoters, and coaches, but referees as well.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of where and how fights could be held. The UFC spent the first two-and-a-half months doing its usual touring schedule before the pandemic brought the sports world to a halt.

When the fights resumed, UFC shifted to Jacksonville, Fla. After three shows in “The Sunshine State”, the promotion zoned in on two locations it used for the remainder of the year – Las Vegas and Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Referees and judges in these jurisdictions saw more UFC action than the rest.

Over the span of 12 months, the UFC promoted 41 events. During those shows, 34 referees were used. Below is a full list of every referee that officiated at least one UFC fight in 2020 (in alphabetical order by last name). The list does not include Dana White’s Contender Series fights. The data was calculated using MMA database Tapology:

Camila Albuquerque, Mike Beltran, Bill Bookwalter, Lucasz Bosacki, Michael Cardoso, Larry Carter, Julio Catarino, Joe Coca, Mark Craig, Herb Dean, Marc Goddard, Eduardo Hardy, Kerry Hatley, Jason Herzog, Scott Howard, Mike King, Kevin MacDonald, Osiris Maia, Dan Miragliotta, Rich Mitchell, Jacob Montalvo, Daniel Movahedi, Anders Ohlsson, Keith Peterson, Jeff Rexroad, Leon Roberts, Robert Romero, Kevin Sataki, John Sharp, Mark Smith, Wayne Spinola, Neil Swailes, Chris Tognoni, Jerin Valel.

But which of those referees did the UFC use the most in 2020? Scroll through the list below to find out.