What did Keith Peterson do? UFC referee gets slammed online as terrible mistake costs fighters prize money 

UFC referee Keith Peterson recently made a blunder while officiating a prelims card bout between Ronnie Lawrence and Dan Argueta at UFC Vegas 75.

Argueta barely had attempted a guillotine on Lawrence who was adjusting his arm when Peterson stopped the fight, mistaking the movement for a tap. The referee owned up to his brazen mistake and declared the fight a No Contest, depriving both fighters of their win bonus.

According to TSN's Aaron Bronsteter, Keith Peterson owning up to his mistake and declaring a draw was the best possible resolution under the circumstances. Bronsteter wrote:

"If Peterson was adamant that it was a tap, it was declared a victory for Argueta, appealed by Lawrence and then denied/not overturned, then that's an issue. This resolution is the best case scenario for human error. Swift and decisive."

However, not everyone agreed with Bronsteter and refused to cut Peterson any slack for the blatant error. Many agree with former UFC champ Dominick Cruz, who was on commentary duty at UFC Vegas 75 and slammed Peterson's officiating yet again.

In reaction, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub wrote:

"Fighter loses out on win money and chance for bonus money. Dom def not over the top. Clearly an issue."

Check out more comments from fighters and fans below:

"But both fighters have no chance to receive the other half which is life changing at times"

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Dominick Cruz's beef with Keith Peterson goes back a long time before Dan Argueta vs. Ronnie Lawrence

Dominick Cruz has openly slammed UFC referee Keith Peterson in the past and even requested a different official for his octagon appearances. The beef started back in 2020 when Peterson stopped Cruz's UFC 249 fight against Henry Cejudo late in round 2 after 'Dominator' took a flurry from 'Triple C'.

Dominick Cruz immediately protested the stoppage and even went on to claim that the referee was smelling of 'cigarettes and alcohol'. The former champ said in his post-fight interview:

"I had seconds left in the round and I just think that sometimes 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? I wish they drug tested them. I know Herb Dean is good. He’s one of the best refs. Immediately when I saw that ref, I was like man is there a way to veto a ref and get a new one? I wonder that. As fighters do we have that choice? I wish we did.”

Catch Cruz's comments on Keith Peterson below: