Being a mixed martial arts official is the most thankless task in the sport. If the job is done perfectly, there is no recognition that the figure was even there. Notice only happens when something goes wrong, or is perceived to go wrong, and it’s typically scathing. Thus it is only reasonable to also highlight cases where officiating is right.
When Bellator MMA travels internationally, they bring with them one of the top regulatory bodies in the sport’s history, the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations, under the direction of Mike Mazzulli. However, Bellator MMA events in the U.S. are regulated by local state or tribal commissions; California is a frequent destination.
The California State Athletic Commission, under the direction of executive director Andy Foster, has worked tirelessly on the level of officiating in “The Golden State.” The roster of officials at Bellator 290 on February 4, 2023, in Inglewood, California is spectacular. and includes Blake Grice, Chris Leben, and Frank Trigg.
The event, too, is spectacular, with two titles on the line, including the MMA heavyweight GOAT Fedor Emelianenko in a rematch vs. Bellator MMA heavyweight champ Ryan Bader. The event will broadcast live on CBS, and stream live on Paramount+. It is the first time Bellator MMA has aired live on the network, and the first time MMA has been broadcast live on CBS since the infamous “Strikeforce: Nashville” brawl in 2010.
The lineup of officials is also stellar. A brief bio of several follows, working forward alphabetically by first name.
Blake Grice
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:Cl_V36POx9Z
A graduate of The Citadel military college, Blake Grice is one of just seven individuals recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions as a trainer for MMA referees and judges. He is the head referee for Georgia and South Carolina and has worked extensively overseas. From 2001-2003, Grice compiled a 3-1 MMA record as an amateur. His 10,000-square-foot gym, Electric City Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness in Anderson, South Carolina, offers instruction in Thai boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Chris Leben
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:CjNBP1XuZvJ
Chris Leben was the inaugural WEC middleweight champion and went on to become the all-time leader in the UFC for middleweight fights (22) before retiring in 2013. Along the way, he earned six performance bonuses and became a big fan favorite. “The Crippler” holds a black belt in jiu-jitsu from Baret Yoshida and today owns The Training Center in San Diego. Leben also suffered through multiple addictions, as he candidly related in his autobiography, “The Crippler: Cage Fighting and My Life on the Edge.” He embraced sobriety in 2015, and in 2016 completed Herb Dean’s referee course. Leben went through the process of shadowing, then working regional shows, and now works world-class events like Bellator 290.
Eliot Kelly
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:CNkmM9hpWxZ
Eliot Kelly was a Division I wrestler at the University of California-Davis who moved to Japan, and in 2008 there began learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Now a black belt in the art, Kelly has medaled internationally, and owns El Dorado Hills Jiu-Jitsu, in El Dorado, California. Kelly has a Master’s degree in Japanese with an emphasis in linguistics and pedagogy, from San Francisco State University. This will be Kelly’s fifth Bellator event; he has also officiated at UFC events.
Felicia Oh
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:Cm7-7jfPtG5
Now a fourth-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu under Jean Jacques Machado, Oh is only the sixth woman outside of Brazil to achieve that rank. She holds a master’s degree in Fine Art/New Genres from UCLA and was lecturing on digital media at Otis College of Art and Design but left that world to concentrate on her martial arts career full-time. A multiple-time world champion in gi and no-gi, nearly a decade ago Oh became an inspector for CSAC and started working on CamoMMA events. Now licensed as a judge, Oh brings the same level of commitment and expertise to officiating that led to her being a pioneering figure in jiu-jitsu.
Frank Trigg
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:CcZmzn2lY2v
An Olympic Trials finalist in wrestling, Frank Trigg holds a black belt in catch wrestling under Neil Melanson, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a second-degree black belt in judo. The UFC Hall of Famer fought from 1999 to 2011, twice fighting Matt Hughes for the title; he was winning the second fight until he was kicked in the groin, the ref missed it, and he was choked not long after. Incensed at what happened, Trigg became a vocal critic of officiating, and in 2011 was invited by “Big” John McCarthy to take his official’s training course. In 2017, Trigg became the first UFC fighter of the modern era to ref a UFC bout (the first was Dan Severn, who reffed at UFC 24 way back in 2000).
Hadi Mohammad Ali
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:CTufzGJtvCL
Hadi Mohammad Ali has served as an MMA official in eleven nations, including Egypt, Italy and Thailand. He has been trained by John McCarthy, Herb Dean, and Marc Goddard; today the technical committee head for the Bahrain MMA Federation conducts referee, judge and inspector training across the Middle East. Towards that end, Hadi, who works professionally as a translator, has for the first time translated the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts into Arabic; this is a vital step in raising the level of officiating in the region. He recently served as head of regulation for Saudi Arabia’s first all-female MMA event. A purple belt in jiu-jitsu, Hadi has proudly represented his home nation of Bahrain internationally, across the Middle East, and in Brazil.
In sum
A frequent criticism of MMA officials is that some lack technical expertise in combat sports. Unfortunately, there are still officials working who cannot for example demonstrate even one way to escape a triangle choke. It is hard to imagine these individuals being able to tell how close a submission was, if they don’t know even basic submission escapes.
On the other hand, the officials at Bellator 290 – without exception – have a stellar background as competitive martial artists, some at the very highest levels. They all have deep experience officiating at world-class MMA events. And they are human; it is not impossible that officiating mistakes will be made. However, Foster has done everything possible to minimize the chances of things going wrong, by bringing together a phenomenal group of highly-skilled martial artists, with deep MMA officiating experience.
