MTG 062: Reffing, Judging&The Over-saturation of the UFC with WKA Official Joel Bekker - a podcast by Sean Fagan

Joel Bekker and I covered a whole shitload of topics during this podcast interview that I know you're going to love. With decades of experience in martial arts and being a ref in combat sports for 18 years, Joel is able to shine some light on a lot of what goes on behind-the-scenes with refs, judges and promoters. Not only that but we talk about a whole plethora of other things:

• Why he decided to become a combat sport ref, judge and official.
• The differences between good refs and bad refs and how there aren't many requirements to be an official in the US.
• How he deals with the constant criticism that all refs get during the context of a fight night.
• What he looks for in fighters who are dazed and how he decides whether to call a fight or let it continue.
• How many fight shows go on without doctors and without qualified referees.
• How being a judge is a non forgiving profession and how no matter what he does he'll end up pissing off 50% of the people involved.
• What he looks for when judging a fight and why he uses earplugs whenever he judges.
• How the scoring system works and why the US scoring system should stay different than the Thai way or scoring.
• His thoughts on the UFC signing a pro wrestler in CM Punk and how the UFC brand has become over saturated.
• The general evolution of fighting and the UFC and where he sees it going in the future.
• And much, much, much more.

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