"Mark Smith is literally the worst" - Fans outraged as referee ignores Steve Garcia's "blatant" illegal strikes against Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 97

Steve Garcia's first-round TKO over Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 97 hasn't gone down well with the fans. Many believe referee Mark Smith was too lenient with Garcia by not penalizing him for back-to-the-head strikes during the fight-ending flurry.

After slipping and falling early in the fight, 'Mean Machine' gave up his back to his opponent. However, he managed to expertly reverse position before swarming Nelson with vicious ground and pound.

While 'The Monster' tried to posture back up to his feet, an elbow strike to the head saw him crumple back down to the canvas. From there, Garcia unloaded relentless ground strikes until the referee was forced to intervene and put a stop to the contest.

However, footage of the fight shows a few of the victor's ground strikes connecting to the back of his opponent's head. Behind-the-head strikes are illegal in the UFC and as such, many in the MMA community believe the fighter should've been penalized instead of being handed a win.

Women's strawweight contender Diana Belbita came down hard on the referee for seemingly ignoring the illegal strikes. The 28-year-old took to X to post footage of the fight while slamming Smith, writing:

"We have to talk about this. How can the ref just ignore this?????"

Check out Steve Garcia's finish over Kyle Nelson below:

@smeez38 wrote:

"Clear shots to the back of the head but Mark Smith is literally the worst ref."

@DieHardMMAPod chimed in:

"Blatant back of the head shot there no?"

Check out a few more reactions below:

Screenshots courtesy of X

With the win at UFC Vegas 97, Garica is on a five-fight knockout streak. During his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, 'Mean Machine' stated that he was looking forward to treating himself to a fishing trip and a month-long hiatus from training.

Check out Steve Garcia's post-fight interview with Michael Bisping below (1:30):