Josh Barnett revealed on his official Twitter account that legendary combat sports referee Yuji Shimada, who has refereed more than 1,000 fights in MMA promotions including PRIDE, Strikeforce, RIZIN, One Championship and more will be the head referee for the GCW: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 9 event on March 30th at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.

The event will air live on FITE+ as part of the GCW The Collective block of events.

From RINGS, Battlarts, PRIDE, Hustle, ONE FC, & more all over the world, this man has seen it all & now will be coming to be the man in charge of the ring at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport.

One of combat sport's most experienced referees, Yuji Shimada is coming to Bloodsport pic.twitter.com/4wX1IsusjC

— ??? ????????? (@JoshLBarnett) February 27, 2023