“The referee is drowning, man” … Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan upset the referee after his questionable officiating of the UFC 307 preliminary bout

Both 185-pounders were looking to get back on the win list after disappointing losses in their last few outings, with Potieria desperate for a win as he is 1-3 in his last four fights.

Dave Seljestad's previous experience refereeing UFC fights

This wasn't Seljestad's first time officiating in the UFC, but after his shocking performance, it could well be his last.

After making a name for himself on the regional scene since 2012, Seljestad was promoted to referee at UFC 278 in 2022, where he officiated two fights.

He initially refereed a fight between Victor Altamirano and Daniel Lacerda and later that same evening a major flyweight bout between Amir Albazi and Francisco Figueiredo.

A year later, with the UFC's return to Salt Lake City, Seljestad was in action again at UFC 291, where he refereed fights between Miranda Maverick and Priscila Cachoeira and CJ Vergara against Vinicius Salvador.

He last served on the PFL 5 regular season ticket last June.

Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan rip Dave Seljestad's officiating of the UFC 307 fight

Unfortunately for Potieria and Almeida, the main topic of conversation in their back-and-forth battle is how poor Seljestad's performance was.

In the second round, the Brazilian caught “The Duelist” with a punch to the eye that was completely ignored by the referee, only for an immediate punch to the groin immediately afterwards to briefly stop the fight.

After the Ukrainian took a few seconds to recover from the blow to the eye and the subsequent low blow, Seljestad resumed the action.

Just moments later, Potieria was stabbed in the eye again, but this time in the other eye. This time, Seljestad Potieria offered water, which isn't actually allowed, so he simply restarted the promotion instead.

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier recognized the referee's plethora of errors and began mocking him, stating that “the referee is a drowning man.”

After four consecutive eye pokes, he failed to deduct a point from Almeida, which was criticized by Cormier's commentary partner Joe Rogan.

UFC Hall of Famer Marc Ratner told Jon Anik during the fight that the referee undoubtedly should have deducted a point from Almeida.

“For the record, UFC Hall of Famer Marc Ratner to my left said the referee clearly should have taken a point,” Anik said on the broadcast.

The 36-year-old Brazilian then secured the unanimous decision win, returning to the win list and handing Potieria his second straight defeat.

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