MMA referee brutally KO'd after being kicked in head before officiating rest of fight

dailystar.co.uk:

MMA referee was accidentally knocked out after being kicked in the head by a fighter during the IMMAF Super Cup semi-final clash between Ireland and Mexico.Despite taking the thumping kick, referee Scott Manhardt impressively got back to his feet and continued to officiate the rest of the fight.Marhardt found himself in the middle to officiate the lightweight clash between Ireland’s Lewis Byrne and Mexico’s Luis Gonzalez.Throughout the opening two rounds the bout was no doubt a close one, with both fighters enjoying some success in the tightly-fought semi-final clash.In the final moments of the second round, Gonzalez looked to stamp his authority on the fight as he attempted to land a rolling thunder kick on his opponent.The Mexican’s kick however came on the stroke of the bell, and in an attempt to stop the late blow, official Manhardt stepped in between the two fighters.However it appeared the referee got a bit too close for comfort as whilst he stopped Gonzalez landing the kick on Byrne, he instead was the man who took the blow.The kick saw Marhardt stumble before he fell to the floor, with the TV commentators describing the blow as ‘the most definitive shot of the fight so far’.What is the most bizarre incident you've ever witnessed in MMA?

Let us know in the comments section.Despite the devastating knockout, referee Manhardt got himself back to his feet, brushed off the blow and continued to officiate the rest of the fight.Whilst Gonzalez was able to land a knockout on the referee, he was unable to pose a similar threat to his opponent Byrne, as the Irishman went on to clinch victory via a unanimous decision.In the midst of his celebrations the Irishman took to social media to share a clip of the official’s fall.