UFC referee takes massive punch to the face at Vegas 48

The business of being a UFC referee is not a safe one and the shocking moment that saw Keith Peterson accidentally punched in the face mid-fight proves it.

The incident occurred when referee Keith Peterson was officiating the bout between Chas Skelly and Mark Striegl, which was on the undercard of Johnny Walker vs Jamahal Hill.

The 36-year-old American, Skelly, took control of the fight from the off and had managed to take his opponents back in the second round, allowing him to dish out vicious blows to the back of the head.

Striegl looked to be in trouble, and it was clear Peterson was moving in to try and stop the fight, when he came in too close to Skelly’s right hand and consequently took an almighty blow to the side of the temple.

Peterson then proceeded to collapse on top of Striegl, but luckily was okay and quickly jumped back up to stop the fight, Skelly winning via a dominant TKO victory.

Dominik Cruz, a fellow UFC fighter, was on commentary that night and has plenty of history with Peterson…

Chas Skelly goes out with a bang!