Leading third men: The 9 referees who oversaw the most UFC fights in 2023

The UFC’s 2023 schedule is in the bag.

This past year was busy and booming not only for fighters, promoters, and coaches, but referees, as well. The UFC held events in 10 U.S. jurisdictions (Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah) and seven international countries (Abu Dhabi, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Over the span of 12 months, the UFC promoted 43 events. During those shows, 46 referees were used – a 70 percent increase in the number of referees (27) used across 43 events in 2022.

With the increased diversification of officials and locations, the number of fights refereed by last year’s leaders largely bumped down on an individual basis – and a new leader was crowned.

Below is a full list of every referee that officiated at least one UFC fight in 2023 (in alphabetical order by last name). The list does not include Dana White’s Contender Series or “The Ultimate Fighter” fights. The data was calculated using comprehensive MMA database Tapology:

Nine officials listed above refereed a double-digit number of fights for the promotion. Which of those referees did the UFC use the most in 2023? Scroll through the list below to find out.

Jacob Montalvo - 13 UFC fights officiated

Jacob Montalvo places on the “leading third men” list for the second straight year. In 2023, he was licensed as a referee in Nevada, so expect a potential uptick in his reps during 2024.

Dan Miragliotta - 22 UFC fights officiated

A familiar face to fans across the globe for over a decade, Dan Miragliotta is one of the few referees who saw an uptick in UFC assignments year-over-year from 2022.

Kerry Hatley - 26 UFC fights officiated

A longtime official of the Texas scene and beyond, Kerry Hatley was one of a handful of referees to receive a first-time license from Nevada in 2022. He more than doubled his UFC assignments from 2022, going from 12 to 26.

Keith Peterson - 46 UFC fights officiated

Keith Peterson saw a slight decrease in UFC assignments in 2023, though he maintained seemingly the most active schedule of any high-level referee. From Bellator to PFL to regional shows, Peterson was busy getting repetitions in during nearly every weekend of the year.

Chris Tognoni - 53 UFC fights officiated

Chris Tognoni saw a slight decrease in fights in 2022, though the aforementioned diversification of location and officials are likely the reason. Tognoni is largely based in Nevada and his focus is mostly UFC events.

Jason Herzog - 54 UFC fights officiated

Marc Goddard - 56 UFC fights officiated

Marc Goddard’s workload increased by 19 fights compared to 2022. He’s established himself as one of the go-to officials for title fights and enters 2023 having officiated UFC title fights on five-straight pay-per-views including four main events.

Herb Dean - 57 UFC fights officiated

For the first time since MMA Junkie began tracking the “leading third men” in 2020 (and perhaps since even before then), Herb Dean slips out of the No. 1 slot on the leaderboard. Arguably the most well-recognizable MMA referee ever, Dean came eight short of this year’s leader.

Mark Smith - 65 UFC fights officiated

There’s a new leading third man. Mark Smith has risen through the ranks over the past three years to really solidify himself as one of the most recognizable mixed martial arts referees. In 2022, he came in second to Herb Dean. In 2023, he pulled away, officiating more UFC fights than anyone else.

Check out the rankings from year’s past:

• 2022’s Leading Third Men

• 2021’s Leading Third Men

• 2020’s Leading Third Men

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie