It’s common for fighters to sustain injuries during a UFC event, but it turns out officials are also at risk.
Referee Mark Smith blew out his knee during a preliminary card matchup at UFC 324 Saturday in Las Vegas and could be seen getting assisted out of the cage and down the tunnel at T-Mobile Arena.
UFC president Dana White informed the public at his post-fight press conference that Smith sustained a significant knee injury during the event.
“Nobody’s asked me about the ref blowing his ACL during the fight,” White said. “ACL. (UFC in-cage announcer Bruce) Buffer’s the only one I’ve seen blow an ACL that wasn’t fighting. Blew his ACL. I don’t know what the time was, but they had to carry (Smith) out of there.”
Smith apparently sustained the injury in the final seconds of a middleweight matchup between Ateba Gautier and Andrey Pulyaev.
At the end of the third round, Smith could be seen stumbling as he moved to signal the conclusion of the fight at the final horn. He was then seen limping and eventually needed help walking backstage.
Smith is a veteran referee who began officiating mixed martial arts bouts in 2011. He worked his first UFC event in 2014.
