FanHouse Jorge Ortiz

Yesterday I wrote that MMA referee Jorge Ortiz should explain his decision to stand up Roy Nelson in his fight with Andrei Arlovski on Saturday night, and that I had been unsuccessful in my attempts to contact Ortiz to get an explanation.

Today the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which licenses Ortiz and all referees in the state, provided me with his phone number, and Ortiz answered my questions about the decision-making process that went into the stand-up, which came with 2:22 remaining in the first round, while Nelson had side control.

There's a scandal stemming from an official telling a fighter to stand up during Saturday night's EliteXC show, and MMA fans deserve answers.

No, I'm not talking about the claims from Seth Petruzelli that an EliteXC official paid him extra cash to stand up in his fight against Kimbo Slice. I'm talking about referee Jorge Ortiz ordering Roy Nelson to stand up when he had side control on the ground against Andrei Arlovski.

Watch the fight, and you'll see that Nelson got side control with 3:01 remaining in the first round, and he looked like he was in great position to dominate the rest of the round and maybe pull the upset. But it didn't happen, because Ortiz stood them up with 2:22 remaining in the round.