Eric Nicksick blasts ref Mark Smith after UFC Vegas 101: “I think he’s an egomaniac”

Eric Nicksick, the head 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 main card. The fight was stopped with one second left after Kopylov landed a head kick that dropped Curtis, but Kopylov walked away and didn’t land any punches. Many thought it was an early stoppage, especially with one second left.

Even before the stoppage, Eric Nicksick says he already had an issue with Mark Smith in the past. Now, after the way he handled the fight, the coach wants to request Smith doesn’t ref any of his fighters’ fight’s going forward.

“I’m gonna find all that out [from the commission]. 100%. It’s just too far gone,” Nicksick said on his Verse Us podcast (via MMAMania). “Like, I know this guy too well, anecdotally, through all of my experiences with him, and on a personal level of what I’ve seen with other people and other fights. Like, there’s no way that this guy can’t hold a grudge or be biased. There’s just no way. I know him too well, and he fraternizes with other gyms, teams, fighters, coaches, and everything else. So, the lines have been blurred. I think he’s an egomaniac. I mean, I’ve never heard a ref ask people to vote for him for the MMA ref of the year.”

Nicksick also says the stoppage on Curtis isn’t the full reason why he’s mad. Instead, he says the instructions Smith gave in the locker room aren’t how he ref’d the fight with stalling and fouls, which frustrated the coach.

Eric Nicksick says it’s fighting two people with Mark Smith as ref

Eric Nicksick says when Mark Smith refs his fighter’s bouts, he believes it’s now two-on-one.

Nicksick says he can’t trust how Smith will call the fight, which makes it tough for him to coach his fighters.

“Anytime that I see Mark Smith walk in the back and say, ‘I got your fight.’ This sounds shitty to say, but I think to myself, we’re now fighting two people, not one. I have felt like that for years. And this runs deeper than yesterday, Nicksick said. “Bottom line, I think Mark’s a good person. He’s not a bad human being…For whatever reason, I feel like every time I see Mark, we’re fighting against two people, not one. That’s my feeling…That’s how I feel when I see that dude come in the back. When I see [Jason] Herzog, I’m like, ‘Great. This dude’s gonna give us a fair shake.’ [Mike] Beltran will give us a fair shake.’ When I see Mark Smith, I’m like, ‘How is this guy gonna find a way to f—ck us over? Somehow, someway.’

Nicksick says his issues with Smith stem long before the Curtis fight.