"These refs are clowns!" - 'S**m bag' official who stopped fight even as no one tapped scorched by MMA community

Earlier today, Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) 163 MMA headliner between Javier Garica and Elijah Johns came to an anticlimactic end as referee Joel Ojeda prematurely stopped the bout, suspecting a tap by Johns.

However, Jons never tapped, and the stoppage was unwarranted. Even commentators could be heard over the broadcast protesting the decision. Suffice it to say that the horrible stoppage riled up fight fans, and they took to social media to note their displeasure.

Fight fan @170Ramiz laid the proverbial fire on the referee in a rant-filled post:

"The commission and judges in Texas have a knack for helping alter a fighters career for the worse. What a damn shame this s**m bag is an official."

Another displeased user @kenta_thuesen wrote:

"These refs are clowns!!!!!!!!!🤡🤡🤡"

In another angry response, @grd8901 accused Ojeda of incompetence, saying:

"There was no tap. Joel Ojeda just ruining careers again. Typical Texas ref."

Netizen @jmhockey19 pegged the stoppage as one of the worst ever:

"That might be the worst stoppage I've ever seen."

In a rather logical rant, @afeldMMA wrote:

"At least Herb apologized and understood that he messed up. Herb also checked on [Robbie] Lawler's arm to see if he was out and then made a bad call. This ref tonight didn’t even check to see if Johns was out."

Check out a few other responses below:

Twitter user @delounger wrote:

"Wooooooow, that's such a bad call."

@ThomasC437 wrote:

"Wow, what is that ref doing, I know they have to protect the fighter, but he wasn’t out yet damn, that’s a terrible stoppage."

Twitter user @Zebratown23 wrote:

"Wtf was that!"

Image courtesy @UFCFightPass on Twitter

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What are the credentials of MMA referee Joel Ojeda?

Joel Ojeda, who recently called a premature stoppage to the LFA 163 headliner between Javier Garica and Elijah Johns, is an American MMA referee from Texas who has worked for promotions like LFA, Invicta FC, Fury FC, and Peak Fighting.

Per Sherdog fight finder, Joel Ojeda first refereed a pro event at LFA 80 - Garica vs. Mariscal in January 2020. Since then, he has officiated 93 mixed martial arts events.

28 of the events he refereed have ended in KOs, 29 in submissions, 35 in official decisions, and 1 in disqualification.

Watch a podcast episode featuring MMA judge Joel Ojeda below: