The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 161: Jedrzejczyk vs. Waterson

#1 Worst: The referee job in the Mike Davis vs. Thomas Gifford fight

Mike Davis's beatdown of Thomas Gifford was hard to watch

Thomas Gifford had a slice of bad luck coming into this show; his opponent Brok Weaver was forced out of their fight with an injury, and by the time Mike Davis was pegged as a replacement, the fight was bumped down onto the preliminary card. Unfortunately for Gifford, things went from bad to worse for him last night.

Gifford looked painfully outgunned in the first round of the fight, with Davis seemingly landing with almost every strike he threw. Sure, Gifford hung tough and was able to absorb a lot of the punishment dished out by ‘Beast Boy’, but it was clear once the one-sided round ended that there was just no way he was going to win the fight.

Disturbingly though, despite Davis continuing to beat on Gifford in the second and third rounds, it didn’t seem like anyone was interested in the health of ‘The Young Lion’, as his corner simply sent him back out while referee Andrew Glenn seemed happy to watch him take punishment – which finally ended with him being knocked unconscious, falling face-down to the mat.

Quite why the fight was allowed to go on for as long as it was remains a question mark. This was a criminal beatdown that wasn’t at all fun to watch – and evidently, the Florida State Athletic Commission agreed, removing Glenn from his refereeing duties for the later Price vs. Vick fight. Judging by this showing, if they hadn’t made that change, Price may well still be punching an unconscious Vick in the head now.