Josh Rosenthal is one of the most respected refs in the sport. He's held right up there with Herb Dean and Big John McCarthy. Many people think reffing is an easy job, but to really recognize the intricacies of position and danger, a ref really needs a lot of training and practice in martial arts themselves. Herb Dean has MMA fights of his own under his belt, and McCarthy used to work for a circus as a wrestling bear.

Last night, I attended a Judo class that had a special guest. Josh Rosenthal attended, and was awarded his Shodan (1st degree black belt) in Judo from Ron Tripp (Guillard's head coach) and Pat Burris (Ron's main coach, and one of the top guys in American Judo). Josh is now that much more officially qualified to run events, and that much more aware of what is and is not happening in the cage. Congrats Josh!