‘The worst job of officiating at a UFC event ever’ - When the UFC removed a referee mid-event for a shockingly ‘disgusting’ performance
At UFC 267, UFC referee Vyacheslav Kiselev found himself at the center of controversy during a preliminary card bout between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Benoit Saint-Denis at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
As the fight progressed, Zaleski relentlessly attacked Saint-Denis, landing powerful strikes that left his opponent battered and bloodied. However, Kiselev failed to intervene and stop the fight despite the clear one-sided nature of the bout.
Even when Saint-Denis was accidentally poked in the eye by Zaleski, Kiselev neglected to call for a medical examination and allowed the fight to continue.
This egregious display of officiating prompted UFC executive Marc Ratner to remove Kiselev from his scheduled assignment for the main card fight between Volkan Oezdemir and Magomed Ankalaev. The experienced Marc Goddard was brought in as a replacement.
UFC has pulled referee Vyacheslav Kiselev from his other #UFC267 assignments due to his performance during the Zaleski dos Santos-Saint Denis fight. https://t.co/lt04N8b6ax
The incident drew widespread criticism from the MMA community, including renowned referee John McCarthy, who called it the worst officiating he had ever witnessed at a UFC event.
"Holy Hell, @marcgoddard_uk @MarcRatnerUFC I just watched the worst job of officiating at an @UFC event ever!!! Please just don’t let him do another fight….. EVER!!!"
Holy Hell, @marcgoddard_uk @MarcRatnerUFC I just watched the worst job of officiating at an @UFC event ever!!! Please just don’t let him do another fight….. EVER!!!
UFC President Dana White also expressed his disappointment, describing it as "pretty bad" and emphasizing that the organization has taken similar actions in the past to address poor officiating.
Commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier also took to Twitter to voice his dismay, stating that it was the worst referee performance he had ever seen:
"Honestly the worst performance I have seen from a referee in my life. Honestly a hard job but man unreal. Makes you respect the good ones like @JasonHerzogMMA @JohnMcCarthyMMA @HerbDeanMMA and many more. I hated watching that I hope Benoit is heading to hospital right now!"
Honestly the worst performance I have seen from a referee in my life. Honestly a hard job but man unreal. Makes you respect the good ones like @JasonHerzogMMA @JohnMcCarthyMMA @HerbDeanMMA and many more. I hated watching that I hope Benoit is heading to hospital right now !
When Dana White called out UFC referee Chris Tognoni for error judgment
At UFC Fight Night 177, Chris Tognoni's judgment came under fire after a crucial mistake during the fight between light heavyweights Mike Rodriguez and Ed Herman.
The incident took place in the second round of the bout when it appeared that Rodriguez had landed a strike to Herman's groin. As per the protocol, Rodriguez stepped back, expecting a pause in the action. However, upon reviewing the replay, it was evident that the strike had actually landed on Herman's right rib cage, not his groin.
The erroneous judgment by Tognoni had significant consequences. Instead of awarding Rodriguez a TKO victory, Herman was given the opportunity to recover and ultimately secured a submission win later in the fight.
UFC President Dana White did not hold back his criticism of the referee's decision during the post-fight conference. He likened Tognoni's error to that of controversial referee Steve Mazzagatti and said:
"That was some Mazzagatti-level sh*t right there... That was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. That kid [Rodriguez] wins by knockout. Technical knockout, and loses the fight. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen."