When UFC fighters enter an Octagon, they are doing so in some of the toughest conditions as they are expected to knockout or finish their opponent in a certain amount of time. The only thing that makes the fights have some sort of sense and ensure that the fighters don't cross a line is the referee.The role of the referee is to make sure that both fighters are protected properly and that one fighter does not take too much offense, as that might lead to death inside the Octagon. Unfortunately, at UFC Fight Night 161, in the fight between Thomas Gifford and Mike Davis, one fighter found himself taking an unnatural amount of punishment while the referee stood by and did nothing.Thomas Gifford at UFC TampaThomas Gifford faced Mike Davis during the Preliminary Card of UFC Tampa. Unfortunately, Gifford took an extreme amount of punishment in the first two rounds of the fight. It was unnatural the number of body shots he took, and the fight should have been called off by either by the referee or Gifford's corner.Neither happened and with seconds remaining in the final round, Gifford was knocked out in the last round with a final shot.While it was a really good performance by Mike Davis, Gifford took way more punishment than he should have.HO-LY shit. Mike Davis looked so good. It should never have gotten this far tho. Hope Gifford's ok. #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/WjCvs2podb— ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho) October 12, 2019MMA Community reacts to the officiatingTop members of the MMA community were less than happy after the fight as they saw how dangerous it had been for Gifford and how the fight might have done irreparable damage to the fighter.Fighters like Rafael Dos Anjos, Michael Chiesa, and others reacted to the KO very negatively.The real fighter will fight until he dies. The ref job is to protect him from it. Terrible job by the ref #UFCTampa— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) October 12, 2019I really hope Thomas Gifford is ok. What makes MMA more safe than boxing is no 10 counts and officials that stop fights timely. Poor officiating like that could lead to the death of a fighter in the UFC. Gifford took WAY too many shots. #UFCTampa— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) October 13, 2019Fire that fucking ref too #UFCTampa God bless the fighters that @coachMMontoya coaches #dickmove— 'Curtious' Curtis Millender (@CurtiousCurtis) October 12, 2019The way Gifford just fell was scary. These refs have to be smarter. How much damage must a young man absorb? #UFCTampa— Matt Schnell (@DANGER_Caged) October 12, 2019While a faceplant KO is something to usually celebrate, such was not the case at all tonight. Thankfully, according to reports, it turns out that Gifford is okay at the moment, but that might have turned out far worse. He had to be taken to the hospital following the fight.Thomas Gifford was transported to the hospital, but is "fine," according to his coach Marc Montoya. Gifford suffered a pretty brutal third-round knockout against Mike Davis on the UFC Tampa prelims after sustaining damage throughout the fight. Montoya... https://t.co/AqCC3gGh0p— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) October 13, 2019Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Do not miss out!