The best and worst from UFC 221

#3 Worst: Jingliang's eye gouge goes unpunished

Jake Matthews survived a disgusting eye gouge to beat Li Jingliang

The mid-card bout between Jake Matthews and Li Jingliang ended in a unanimous decision win for the Aussie Matthews, but it was somewhat bittersweet as the fight probably should’ve ended in the second round, either by submission or by a rare disqualification. Matthews had Jingliang caught in what looked to be a fight-ending guillotine choke, but the Chinese fighter found a way out – by blatantly gouging Matthews’ right eye in front of the referee.

Somehow referee Mark Simpson not only allowed the fight to continue, but he didn’t even dock a point or appear to warn Jingliang for the infraction. Matthews clearly struggled with his vision throughout the rest of the round before winning the third to secure the fight. Post-fight he almost excused Jingliang’s behaviour as being instinctual, but it was still a shameful moment.

We’re all used to seeing fouls go unpunished – stuff like fence grabs – but while they can have an effect on the outcome of a fight, they’re not as dangerous as something like an eye gouge. We’ve seen even errant eye pokes end careers before or come close – ask Anthony Johnson or Alan Belcher.

How Simpson missed something so blatant is beyond my comprehension, and Matthews is lucky to have escaped with his vision intact. Hopefully Simpson never referees in the UFC again – and hopefully, Jingliang cleans his act up in future fights, too.