MMA News: Referee Faces Lifetime Ban After Assaulting Fighter

In MMA, the third man in the cage is typically responsible for the safety of both fighters, though In this instance, the referee was part of the action.

At RDC 10 in Arkansas on January 20, referee Jon Munz got into a heated physical altercation with Robert Gidron, a professional middleweight fighter.

During the fight, Gidron grabbed the fence while being taken down – which is a foul in MMA. Munz broke up the fighters to address the fence grab, and Gidron gave Munz a little shove. It then escalated as Munz confronted Gidron with a finger in his face and shoved him hard against the cage. Gidron retaliated with a short punch — Munz rebounded and waved the fight off. A small brawl broke out before everything blew over.

You can watch the video below, courtesy of Gidron and MMAJunkie: