Video: Referee punched twice in mid-fight brawl at RIZIN 49: Decade event

A referee wound up on the receiving end of multiple punches while trying to separate a fight at RIZIN 49: Decade.

A referee wound up on the receiving end of multiple punches while trying to separate a fight at RIZIN 49: Decade.

During Rukiya Anpo and Sina Karimian’s mixed rules exhibition bout Tuesday morning in Saitama, Japan, a brawl broke out between both fighters, and the referee was caught in the middle of it. Anpo was originally scheduled to face boxing star Ryan Garcia on the card, before Garcia withdrew due to a hand injury.

In Round 6, Karimian threw an spinning backfist, which is illegal in the ruleset they were competing in. That forced the referee to call a timeout, but shortly after, Anpo returned the favor with an illegal spinning backfist of his own, prompting Karimian to attempt a second spinning backfist.

Chaos ensued as the referee jumped in to separate the two, and he ended up getting tagged by a few blows himself. Security was forced to step in to stop the melee.

Moments later, the fight resumed, and Anpo won the bout by unanimous decision, earning scores of 60-54 from all three judges.