Referee Chris Tognoni is confronted with a recoil for allowing extra punches to land on UFC Vegas 109.
The experienced officer was the man in the middle when Elia Smith fought against Toshiomi Kazama on Saturday evening.
Tognoni was in the perfect position to wave things away immediately when Smith scored a slam knockout, leaving his opponent unconscious on the canvas for a few minutes.
However, he stepped aside and allowed Kazama to eat two annoying follow-ups before he came in to call off the fight.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
UFC Vegas 109 Referee Facies Record
UFC commentator John Gooden described De Ko as one of the 'most violent' he has ever seen.
Slow-Motion images made it even more brutal and emphasized a huge mistake by the referee.
Daniel Cormier said, “Jesus Christ, referee, what are you doing?”
“Yes, the referee missed it,” Dominick Cruz added, while the comment trio ran back the finishing series.
UFC fans went to social media to agree with the comments of the commentators about the late stopping.
“Vicious. Also, wtf ref. You had one job,” said a fan. While another was added: “The referee must be fired SMH.”
“Where is the referee at ??? WTF that follow -up photos could have been avoided.” A third X user has responded.
“What did the referee actually do?” someone else asked.
“Ref took far too long to get in there,” wrote a fifth fan.
“Chris Tognoni has to retire – how do you allow those 2 follow -up photos,” another person rumbled.