UFC Tampa: Mike Davis knocks out Thomas Gifford in ugly scenes

A sickening knockout left UFC fans incensed and slamming the referee for failing to step in sooner. He was later kicked off the card.

Fight fans have blown up on social media following a sickening knockout at the latest UFC fight night in Tampa.

Mike Davis took on Thomas Gifford in one of the bouts on the UFC Tampa preliminary card and from the opening round it was clear which way the fight was going.

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Davis absolutely dominated Gifford and rocked him over and over again before the bell rang to end the opening round.

The ugly beat down continued for a further two more rounds before Davis landed the final blow with 15 seconds remaining in the fight and sent Gifford falling face first to the canvas in scary scenes.

Es la primera vez que sufro viendo una pelea, Mike Davis hizo su trabajo, pero sufrió mucho Gifford, #UFCTampa. pic.twitter.com/AX91A9t2ZU
— Rafa Romero (@rafuunka) October 12, 2019

Fans watching on however were disgusted the fight almost went the distance with Gifford simply unable to stop the flood of punches from landing.

Some pointed the finger at the referee for failing to step in while others highlighted the corner for not throwing in the towel.

THIS is absolutely disgusting

The corner.
The referee.

Absolutely disgusting! #UFCTampa #DavisGifford
— Adam Catterall (@AdamCatterall) October 12, 2019

Holy hell. One of the worst beatdowns I’ve seen in the UFC Octagon. You really hate to see that. #UFCTampa
— Brian Shea (@BrianPShea) October 12, 2019

There was nothing good about what just happened in the Octagon. Hope Gifford is OK. #UFCTampa
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) October 12, 2019

How is there gonna be a third round? How is Gifford still standing? Was that two 10-8s? #UFCTampa
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) October 12, 2019

The 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, 2019

That stupid knockout didn't need to happen. Fight should've been stopped two minutes earlier. Dumb. #UFCTampa
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) October 12, 2019

MY GOODNESS!!! Davis up 20-16 after two rounds… this is one of the worst beatdowns ive seen all year…. this is just ugly https://t.co/hosFuIwjHl
— E. Casey Leydon (@ekc) October 12, 2019

The referee who was in charge of the fight, Andrew Glenn, was later pulled from the card following the sickening display.

His remaining fights were handed to long-time UFC referee Herb Dean.

Andrew Glenn, who was the referee for that horrendous Gifford annihilation on the prelims, was pulled from this fight by the athletic commission. Herb Dean referees instead.

Good call. Fair play. #UFCTampa
— Ben Kiely (@TheJivemaster) October 13, 2019

Later in the card it was another knockout that had fans up and out of their seat, but this time their was no outrage being directed towards the referee.

In the opening round of Niko Price’s fight agains James Vick, Price found himself in a bad position on his back as Vick reigned down punches.

But Price didn’t panic and waited for his moment to strike and when it came he delivered an upkick right into the grill of Vick and turned his lights out.

WOW! UPKICK KNOCKOUT! #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/L0vk4UH06K
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) October 13, 2019

Far to say the insane knockout is almost a shoe in for the knockout of the night award with fans left picking their jaws up off the floor over the stunning victory.