UFC referee Keith Peterson is one of the many renowned refs the promotions puts in the Octagon for making sure fighters play a fair game during their bouts. During the preliminary card at UFC Vegas 75, the result of a bout has now brought that reputation into question.
Peterson reffed the prelim fight between Dan Argueta (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Ronnie Lawrence (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) tonight. Early on in the featherweight bout, Argueta jumped on a guillotine choke, looking to almost finish the fight. His opponent defended it well. But as Dan moved into a mounted guillotine, Keith got in close to monitor the action.
Keith Peterson f*cked up and Dominick Cruz ringside lolpic.twitter.com/AmSAh0YGm9
— Sal (@BuSeloh) June 17, 2023
When Peterson went to check whether the 31-year-old had gone out, Ronnie jerked his hand way, making a motion that slightly resembled a tap. This made Peterson think he witnessed a tap from the defending fighter. Thus, he stopped the fight, which immediately saw Lawrence protesting.
Certainly, it was an unfortunate ending to a bout that was just getting started. However, if there’s a silver lining, it’s that Ronnie won’t be going home with a loss on his record tonight. After consulting with a replay official, Keith realized his error, and the bout was ultimately ruled a no-contest.
The official result has been declared a no contest. ❌
Maybe we’ll see this one run back, we move on LIVE on ESPN2 / @ESPNPlus. pic.twitter.com/H33HtFGepU
— UFC (@ufc) June 17, 2023
One of the members on the broadcast booth was former UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz. Given his history with Keith, Cruz took the opportunity to take dismantle the ref’s blunder tonight. “Well, he didn’t tap. He’s close, but he did not (tap),” Cruz said. “It wasn’t a tap, it was an adjustment of Keith Peterson pulling his hand.”
When did the feud between Keith Peterson and Dominick Cruz begin?
May 2020 saw Dominick Cruz (24-4 MMA) returning back to the Octagon after his title loss to Cody Garbrandt in 2016. During his time on the sidelines, the bantamweight belt had switched multiple hands. To the surprise of many, Cruz was thrust into an immediate shot at the gold against then-champion Henry Cejudo.
However, things didn’t go exactly as planned for Cruz at UFC 249. During the 2nd round of their fight, Dominick ate a big knee that rocked him, allowing Henry to pounce and throw a barrage of punches. This forced Keith Peterson, the referee for the fight, to stop the bout with just 2 seconds remaining on the clock.
9 May 2020
UFC 249
Cejudo defends the title
Defeats Dominick Cruz via TKO in Round 2 pic.twitter.com/i4grSDjf0L
— Ocelot MMA (@Ocelot_MMA) May 1, 2023
This is where the Cruz – Peterson rivalry began. The former UFC and WEC bantamweight king took umbrage with the stoppage, putting Keith in his crosshairs for the same. He accused the ref of not being in a level mind when overseeing the fight.
During the post-fight presser, Cruz said that he felt the stoppage was too early. He reiterated the same when speaking to renowned journalist Ariel Helwani.
“That was an early stoppage, 100 percent. I’m positive of it,” Dominick said on the UFC 249 post-fight show on ESPN. “I wish there was a way to keep these refs a little more responsible sometimes. The guy (Keith) smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, so who knows what he was doing. Definitely (he did).”
He continued, “I wish they drug-tested them. I know Herb Dean is good. He’s one of the best refs. Immediately when I saw that ref I was like, ‘Man, is there a way to veto a ref and get a new one?’ I wonder that.”
The “alcohol and cigarettes” comment created a storm within the MMA world, leading to a plethora of memes, giving the ref a nickname of “No nonsense”. Whatever the case may be, Dominick hasn’t changed his mind since the event.
“The all nonsense Keith Peterson”
My broadcast partner may just be the funniest man alive @DominickCruz
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) May 13, 2023
Before his UFC 259 bout against Casey Kenney, Cruz shared in the pre-fight media scrum that he specifically requested Peterson to not oversee his upcoming fight at the time. Last month, Keith came under scrutiny for yet another blunder while overseeing Carlos Ulberg vs. Ihor Potieria. After the fight, Cruz couldn’t resist taking a jibe at Keith’s infamous nickname and instead dubbed him, “all nonsense Peterson.”
Peterson’s UFC Vegas 75 blunder draws hilarious reactions from fans
Needless to say, tonight’s controversial stoppage became sort of the talk of the MMA town. Immediately after the result, many fans took to social media to voice their initial reactions. Some believe Lawrence was going to submit sooner than later. Others seem to be poking fun at the age-long few between Peterson and Cruz. Nevertheless, fans are happy that neither Dan nor Ronnie had to take an L tonight.
Here are some reactions on the matter –
Awful cos he was going to go out eventually too, but you have to take the W away
— ty (@gimmeyrshare) June 18, 2023
bad decision but dom is so salty lmao
— leon (@bath_waterrr) June 18, 2023
Dom’s been waiting for very long time for this moment. Lol
— Muzaffar A. (@MuzoAbdul) June 18, 2023
Keith ‘All Nonsense’ Peterson 🤡
— Eskay (@AsleepChaos) June 18, 2023
Stop smoking cigs and boozing Keith
— NBD Podcast (@NButDubs) June 18, 2023
UFC not having to pay a win bonus to either fighter pic.twitter.com/lFljTWmK5g
— Kevin Thang (@Skip2MyJays) June 17, 2023
Keith Peterson always looks like he’s coming off a str8 bender
— The Notorious P.A.T. (@NotoriousPatty) June 17, 2023
From bad judging to bad refereeing, this is getting more common. Just disappointing, hope this gets better.
— GoldenInstinct (@GoldenInstinctx) June 17, 2023
Dom is gonna love the Petersen slander the rest of the night lol
— Dylan (@DylanBrake24) June 17, 2023
The old proverb is that the best referees are the ones whose names you might not know. Unfortunately, Keith Peterson made himself quite known tonight, again. What do you make of the controversial stoppage? Let us know in the comments.