UFC ref enjoys working dual-sport show

By Andy Samuelson

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 | 2 a.m.

When he’s not inside the Octagon ruling the action for mixed martial arts events seen worldwide, UFC referee Steve Mazzagatti is usually spending the rest of his time at the Las Vegas fire station where he works as a firefighter.

But every so often the former Muay Thai trainer gets to return to his refereeing roots for smaller shows that fall under the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s governing umbrella.

One such event was last Saturday’s “Worlds Collide” card promoted by former world champion boxer Fernando Vargas, which featured the first alternating boxing, MMA bouts in Southern Nevada history.

“Yeah, it was fun,” Mazzagatti said of the nine-fight show at Buffalo Bill’s casino in Primm. “I think both worlds can co-exist with one another.

“They both have their own elements to offer. While boxing is all hands, MMA offers a little bit of everything. It’s just kind of a matter of introducing the rest of the fight fans to what else is out there in the fight game.”

For Saturday’s show a fifth rope was added to the normal four-rope boxing ring in accordance with MMA rules. Since there was no cage like inside the UFC’s patented Octagon, it might have seemed strange to some MMA fans in attendance when the action had to be stopped a handful of times and fighters repositioned inside the ropes after various body parts fell outside the ring.

“The ropes are quite a bit different than the cage, so we try to stop problems before they start,” Mazzagatti said of the repositioning. “You don’t want a fighter to wind up in a really cruel submission because they are all tangled up in the ropes.”

While Mazzagatti said he enjoys the action at the smaller shows, he said the biggest difference compared to UFC cards is ensuring that the less experienced fighters are safe.

“Fighting is fighting for the most part. Add a little rules, take some away,” he said. “The biggest difference on my part is my judgment.

“All the big shows like UFC, the fighters are all A-class fighters so you know that they are very experienced and know how to handle themselves. These guys are C and B class fighters working their way up to the big leagues. You have to give them a little more attention and being extra careful enforcing all the rules in the ring.”

UFC 97 saved: The thought of losing millions of recession-fighting revenue dollars or refunding some 20,000 already sold tickets swayed the Quebec Boxing Commission’s decision not to cancel the April 18 card at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

“During this meeting, the board was assured by the promoter that the safety of the participants would be assured and that rules governing combat sports will be respected,” the commission said in a released statement, after a face-to-face meeting with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and vice president for regulatory affairs Marc Ratner settled rule differences involving knees and elbow strikes and a knockdown count that threatened to thwart the show.

“As a result, the board has granted the license for mixing boxing requested by the UFC, which will allow them to hold the UFC 97 show on April 18.”

UFC 97’s main event features middleweight champ and arguable the sport’s pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva (23-4) against top contender Thales Leites (14-1).

There seems to be little doubt that UFC 83 — the fighting organization’s first foray into Canada, which set a North American attendance record of 21,390 and second largest gate in UFC history of $5.1 million thanks to native countryman Georges St. Pierre’s participation — made the commission’s decision an easy one.

Delayed debut?: Chad Dawson's hand injury hurt didn't just delay the light heavyweight champ's return to the ring, it may have caused undefeated Swedish female boxer Donatella Hultin, who trains in Las Vegas, a lengthy wait for her professional debut.

The 20-year-old Hultin (13-0 as an amateur) was supposed to fight for the first time on the undercard of Dawson's rematch against Antonio Tarver March 14 at the Palms. But with Dawson's injured hand causing an indefinite postponement, Hultin's time frame and opponent for a future fight is also up in the air.

"Right now I am trying to get Donatella another pro debut fight before she returns to Sweden on March 31. If not it is no big deal. She will make her pro debut when she returns," said her manager Butch Gottlieb, who said she has to return to her native country to acquire a work visa. Gottlieb said he didn't think it would be a lengthy process considering Hultin already has both a tourist and student visa.

Parisyan pleads case: UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan made an appearance before the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday in hopes of putting his post-UFC 94 drug test failure to rest.

But the 26-year-old, who tested positive for the banned substances hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxymorphone, will have to make a return appearance before the commission in March before his fate is decided.

“I’m just going to tell them, ‘Listen, I’m sorry,’” Parisyan told MMAjunkie.com. “‘I had a prescription for one pain pill; the other I didn't have a prescription for. I have a very high resistance to pain pills, and I took some. I'm sorry.

“‘This is the only way I have to support my family. If I don't fight, I'm going to be homeless by the end of the year. I'm going to try to get married in August. If I don't fight and I get fined, my entire year -- everything I was supposed to do -- will just go down the toilet. Between my marriage and my house, I'll lose everything if you take my money away. So I beg God and I'm begging you guys, please don't do that to me.’”

Quick hits: MMAjunkie.com is reporting that former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (24-4 MMA) and former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1 MMA) have agreed, but not signed a contract, to fight at UFC 99, which is set to take place June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. ... MMA darling Gina Carano took part in a somewhat racy shoot for Maxim Magazine. ... World Extreme Cagefighting has finalized its March 1 WEC 39 card set for the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Lone Star state native Leonard Garcia (12-3) takes on featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown (20-4) in the main event.

Andy Samuelson can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7837.