"Horrible refereeing" - Fans slam Chris Tognoni after referee misses fighter furiously tapping out and getting choked

Chris Tognoni found himself at the heart of controversy after a glaring refereeing blunder in Billy Elekana’s first-round submission win over Kevin Christian. The fight ended at the 3:33 mark of the first round, but only after Christian tapped several times before being choked unconscious.

Elekana had a slow start in the fight as Christian peppered him with inside kicks and kept the distance with his reach. But one clean right hand from the Las Vegas-based light heavyweight flipped the momentum.

Christian crashed to the canvas, and Elekana immediately secured back control, flattening him out and sinking in the rear-naked choke. Tognoni failed to notice multiple taps, forcing Elekana to maintain the choke until Christian went out cold. Michael Bisping, who was calling the action cageside, was heard saying the fighter tapped multiple times before going out.

The lapse drew frustration across MMA circles, with some fans suggesting the UFC introduce an assistant referee outside the cage to monitor fights through screens and alert officials in real time. One fan wrote:

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

"Horrible refereeing by Tognoni."

Meanwhile, other fans wrote:

"Give refs an earpiece and add a second ref outside the octagon to watch fights on multiple screens so that they can alarm the octagon ref if something like this happens. Keep fighters safe!"

"Need an outside the octagon ref for moments like this. Scary!"

"Another fantastic display of officiating by Chris Tognoni."

"The only statement made is Chris Tognoni needs glasses."

"The referee needs to be coached for his negligence. He tapped a long time ago. You gotta look for the hands next time, it seems to me that you were looking at how deep the choke is."

Check out some of the fan reactions below:

Fans react to Chris Tognoni's blunder at UFC Vegas 110. [Screenshots courtesy: @ufc on X]

This is not the first time that Tognoni has sparked controversy with his decisions. At Noche UFC 2023, he stopped the Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda fight early after mistaking Lacerda for being unconscious, which was later overturned to a no-contest.

At UFC Vegas 109, he was late to intervene in Elijah Smith’s knockout against Toshiomi Kazama. During Ed Herman vs. Mike Rodriguez in 2020, he paused the action for an incorrect low blow call that changed the fight’s outcome. Earlier, at UFC 155, his repeated restarts during Yushin Okami vs. Alan Belcher disrupted momentum and, according to fans, influenced the result of the fight.