MMA referee Keith Peterson was inadvertently punched during a fight at UFC Vegas 48.
Peterson officiated Chas Skelly’s match against Mark Striegl on the undercard of Johnny Walker vs Jamahal Hill.
Skelly found his way to Striegl’s back in the second round and delivered a series of thunderous punches to his fallen opponent.
The ref intervened to stop the scrap but accidentally found himself on the receiving end of a punch by the aggressor, who was hammering away.
Peterson fell on top of Striegl but appeared to be well in the end before Skelly was named the winner following a TKO finish.
This happened in front of Dominick Cruz, who was providing commentary and has a history with the match official.
Cruz blamed Peterson for his second-round TKO loss to Henry Cejudo back in May 2020 at UFC 249
That is because the Dominator believed the referee caused a premature stoppage.
The 36-year-old American even suggested that Peterson was drunk on the job.
Cruz previously said: “That was an early stoppage, 100 per cent – I’m positive of it.
“I wish there was a way to keep these refs a little more responsible sometimes.
“The guy smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, so who knows what he was doing. Definitely [he did]. I wish they drug tested them.”
