A referee had his eyes elsewhere on this day in 2021 as a UFC fighter pummeled their dazed opponent.
The topic of refereeing has reared its head again in recent weeks after some questionable moments from veteran official Jason Herzog.
He was first accused of stepping in too soon when Derrick Lewis swarmed to finish Tallison Teixeira in 35 seconds at UFC Nashville. And many believe that contributed to his performance at UFC Abu Dhabi, where Herzog allowed Mohammad Yahya to suffer eight knockdowns against Steven Nguyen without stopping the fight.
While criticism of that referee is the current focus, Herzog is far from the first to draw the MMA community’s ire. And one instance in particular was quite puzzling…
Referee Mark Smith was looking outside the cage as Cheyanne Vlismas knocked out her opponent at UFC Vegas 33
On this day, July 31, in 2021, UFC Vegas 33 took place at the Apex. The event was headlined by Sean Strickland’s win over Uriah Hall, which came in a five-round decision.
The judges were not needed beforehand in the co-main event, as Dana White’s Contender Series alum Cheyanne Vlismas delivered one of the highlights of the year in her strawweight clash against Gloria de Paula.
While she had vowed to show increased wrestling pedigree after being out-grappled in her Octagon debut, ‘The Warrior Princess’ was not required to show that improvement. Instead, she closed the show with a devastating head kick that was timed perfectly as her opponent lifted herself off the canvas.
There was initially some question over whether the kick was legal, prompting referee Mark Smith to seemingly signal for an instant replay to officials cageside. But while he was busy looking away from the action, Vlismas pounced on De Paula and landed some brutal ground-and-pound strikes that drew little resistance from the stricken Brazilian.
The sequence prompted commentators Paul Felder and Michael Bisping to yell, “Stop the fight!” The situation was similar to Dan Hardy’s cageside shout at Herb Dean after Francisco Trinaldo dropped Jai Herbert the year prior — only, Dean was actually watching the action.
Smith was quickly criticized for his decision to look away after De Paula had been dropped and was clearly hurt.
Cheyanne Vlismas retired in 2025, three years after her last UFC fight
Vlismas would compete just two more times in the UFC before hanging up the gloves.
Following a defeat to Cory McKenna in late 2022, ‘The Warrior Princess’ focused on family life and gave birth to two children. This year, Vlismas retired from MMA after acknowledging that she would not be able to give her all to both the sport and her children.
“As of today I am officially retired,” Vlismas wrote on Instagram. “This decision comes with a lot of heart break. But this is something that I need to do. After having my second child, my time is very limited. I am unable to give 100 percent into my training without giving less of myself to my babies. This decision comes as I am choosing to be the parent that I wish I always had growing up.
“As hard as this decision is because I love fighting so much with all my heart. My kids will always be put first. I know I am young and I could make a comeback but my decision came down to could I leave my kids for 2 months for a training camp? I simply cannot do so. … This was a dream. I didn’t get to fulfill all my dreams, but I made it to the highest level and now I’m going to choose to give my all into being a mother. And lastly, thank you to all my fans.”
