Eric Nicksick, the pinnacle coach of Chris Curtis, wasn’t a fan of referee Mark Smith and his stoppage at UFC Vegas 101.
Curtis suffered a third-round knockout loss to Roman Kopylov on the principle card. The battle was stopped with one second left after Kopylov landed a head kick that dropped Curtis, however Kopylov walked away and didn’t land any punches. Many thought it was an early stoppage, particularly with one second left.
Even earlier than the stoppage, Eric Nicksick says he already had a problem with Mark Smith prior to now. Now, after the way in which he dealt with the battle, the coach desires to request Smith doesn’t ref any of his fighters’ battle’s going ahead.
“I’m gonna discover all that out [from the commission]. 100%. It’s simply too far gone,” Nicksick stated on his Verse Us podcast (through MMAMania). “Like, I do know this man too effectively, anecdotally, by way of all of my experiences with him, and on a private stage of what I’ve seen with different folks and different fights. Like, there’s no method that this man can’t maintain a grudge or be biased. There’s simply no method. I do know him too effectively, and he fraternizes with different gyms, groups, fighters, coaches, and every part else. So, the traces have been blurred. I feel he’s an egomaniac. I imply, I’ve by no means heard a ref ask folks to vote for him for the MMA ref of the 12 months.”
Nicksick additionally says the stoppage on Curtis isn’t the complete cause why he’s mad. As an alternative, he says the directions Smith gave within the locker room aren’t how he ref’d the battle with stalling and fouls, which pissed off the coach.