David Adeleye loses control, throws a punch at referee after suffering TKO loss against Fabio Wardley

David Adeleye faced Fabio Wardley in a grudge match in the co-main event of Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou. The two men pit their records on the line, with Adeleye being a 13-0 undefeated prospect heading into the bout. While the fight was initially competitive, it gradually turned into a drubbing in Wardley's favor.

As his foe's coaches guided him to a winning strategy, David Adeleye failed to adjust and suffered a massive knockdown in round seven. While he managed to beat the referee's 10 count, he was quickly swarmed by Wardley, who scored a seventh-round TKO to capture the win after the referee waved off the bout.

In a shocking moment, David Adeleye reacted violently to the referee's intervention, nearly punching him as he pushed him away in protest before landing a body blow in a follow-up action. His behavior drew widespread condemnation from the combat sports world.

While it is not unheard of for a fighter to express their frustrations with a referee's conduct, such as Colby Covington's issues with Marc Goddard's stoppage of his first fight with Kamaru Usman, physical contact is inexcusable. Ironically, Goddard has been involved in situations where a fighter has gotten physical with him.

Conor McGregor infamously shoved the referee after he entered the cage at Bellator 187 to celebrate with his teammate, Charlie Ward. Unfortunately, the Irishman did so before the fight was declared officially over.