UFC ref criticised for not stopping bout

A UFC referee is being lambasted for not stopping fight despite an apparently semi-conscious fighter being hit with 50 unanswered shots.

Neil Magny caught Hector Lombard on the canvas in the second round of their welterweight fight at UFC Fight Night Brisbane on Sunday, pounding him on the mat.

Despite being so close to the action, referee Steve Perceval refused to step in and stop the fight.

The bout entered the third round where Magny took another 46 seconds to record victory.

After the fight Perceval said: "As a referee my job is to protect the fighters at all times, so I stop the fight when I feel the fighter can not defend himself intelligently.

"If the fight does not end in a TKO or Tapout then I try to give the fighters every chance to defend themselves, I warn them that if they don’t defend themselves then I will stop the fight."