An MMA referee is seriously under fire for what appeared to be a nightmare officiating job at NFC Fighting’s latest event. Byron Wilson had Skyler King in serious trouble, hitting him with around 11 elbows while King looked for a takedown. And the really ugly part? Several of those shots appeared to connect on the back of the opponent’s head, which, as we all know, is a big no-no in MMA.

However, it did not end there. The 28-year-old was barely offering any meaningful defense as more shots kept coming, yet the referee just let all happen. There was no stoppage or intervention of any kind and the referee simply watched the whole thing unfold.

Byron Wilson eventually stopped the attack and walked away, seemingly certain that the bout was already over with his opponent already ground on the mat, believing he’d won by TKO. Despite all the one-sided action, the referee still hadn’t called it off.

That caused Wilson to realize the fight was still going on. He returned to his downed opponent and delivered one final punch, at which point the referee finally intervened and waved off the contest. This outright bizarre sequence instantly went viral online, with King himself admitting he was confused by what happened inside the cage.

“As the guy who took the shot: not really sure how the ref didn’t realize I wasn’t fighting back when the opponent walked away,” King wrote in the comments. “I assumed the fight was over because otherwise why would the shots stop? There was more than enough time to tell that I wasn’t getting back into the action.”

King’s reaction only added to the criticism, especially since he pointed to Wilson walking away while celebrating as practically proof the fight was already over. Another fighter, David Wilson, reacted to the clip, claiming he’d had his own first-hand experience with the same referee’s officiating during his own NFC appearance.

“Bro this is absolutely ridiculous!!!!,” he wrote in the comments. “This is the same ref that let me rain down so many unanswered shots to my opponent. This guy is going to get someone seriously hurt!!!”

The event has unsurprisingly drawn parallels to some of the recent controversies surrounding UFC referee Herb Dean. The veteran has received increasing criticism in recent weeks, particularly from former UFC champion Alex Pereira, following his loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250.

‘Poatan’ has repeatedly criticized Herb Dean over several shots that appeared to land on the back of his head during the final sequence. The Brazilian has since shared several posts calling for the veteran referee to be removed from UFC fights.

To make matters worse, Dean has also found himself involved in other controversial moments. Despite Dean’s warnings, Sharaputdin Magomedov repeatedly tugged Michel Pereira‘s hair throughout their battle. However, the referee never deducted a point, which, as expected, drew major criticism.

Another contentious moment occurred during Phumi Nkuta vs. Adriano Moraes. Moraes was granted a submission victory with only one second remaining, but Nkuta’s team then appealed the decision to the California State Athletic Commission, claiming that their fighter went unconscious only after the final bell. Similarly, even UFC Vegas 120 produced another Dean-related officiating debate.

The NFC incident was particularly concerning because the referee appeared to allow the action to continue after King was no longer defending himself. And with definite frustration after watching this shocking video, the fans were not holding back.

Fans demand the referee face severe consequences after shocking NFC sequence

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was among those stunned by what he saw. “What the hell was this ref thinking ? 🤦‍♂️” Weidman wrote.

Other fans believed the situation was serious enough to warrant immediate consequences. “There needs to be legal action against ignorant referees like this. They have people’s lives in their hands; this is crazy!” one viewer wrote.

Another demanded the referee lose his job from NFC. He wrote, “Fire the ref instantly. We need better measures to ensure refs know what they’re doing, people’s lives are at risk🤦🏽‍♂️”

One fan was equally direct: “Ref’s fault and should be held accountable and fired immediately.” Another went even further, writing, “People should be put in jail for this kind of behavior.”

The Herb Dean comparisons didn’t take long to appear. “This is giving Herb Dean UFC White House vibes,” a fan wrote. Another fan sarcastically added, “This ref is clearly a top graduate of the Herb Dean ref academy. I see no problems here…fighter was clearly still breathing so the fight goes on.”

Another kept it simple: “Herb Dean that you?”

And because this is MMA Twitter, there were plenty of jokes mixed in with the outrage. “Ref waiting for someone to yell worldstar,” joked a fan. Another posted, “Referee.exe stopped working 💀” And one fan summed up the entire sequence with: “First and last time reffing 😭”

Jokes aside, the criticism runs deeper than just disagreeing with a stoppage. The NFC referee appears to have had multiple chances to step in, from the apparent illegal elbows to the unanswered ground strikes that followed, and even when Byron Wilson himself walked away assuming it was already over. For fans watching from outside the cage, that raises an uncomfortable question: if the fighter delivering the punishment thought the fight had ended before the referee did, how much longer should King have been left exposed?