UFC’s first event of 2025 wasn’t the headline-making night Dana White had in mind. Instead of thrilling fans with knockout action and epic performances, the night became the topic of conversation for all the wrong reasons. A questionable act during the middleweight bout between Chris Curtis and Roman Kopylov at UFC Vegas 101 led to a firestorm of criticism, led by Eric Nicksick. And guess who’s at the center of it all? None other than the veteran ref, Mark Smith, himself.

‘Action Man’, known for his iron will and never-give-up attitude, was on the receiving end of a call that cut his fight short just when it seemed like he was getting his second wind. And let’s just say his coach, Nicksick, wasn’t about to let that slide. On Verse Us with Eric Nicksick, he didn’t hold back. “You never get three timeouts in a f—king fight!” Now that’s a statement that’ll grab anyone’s attention.

So, the beef? It wasn’t just the stoppage itself. It was the inconsistency and lack of enforcement in how Smith handled the fight. For starters, the Russian committed a groin strike, an eye poke, and a mouthpiece violation. All the things that should’ve been addressed accordingly by Smith. But instead, the ref only came to senses and acted against Curtis at the last second of round three, which according to a large fraction of the MMA community, was uncalled for. Honestly, who’s playing by the rules here?

But it gets better or worse, depending on how you look at it. Nicksick wasn’t just throwing a tantrum. He had a point. All he asks for was to “let the mother—ker go out on his shield.” Do you know what that means in fight terms? Let him finish what he started. Curtis wanted to go the distance, and instead, the rug was yanked out from under him.

Let’s not sugarcoat this, Nicksick is calling out something bigger than just a bad call here. There’s a long-term mental toll on fighters when they’re consistently dealing with shaky officiating.

Is Eric Nicksick unfair in his stance or does unjust officiating break fighters?

If Chris Curtis keeps walking into the cage with the baggage of fights like these, having to worry about more than just the opponent, that’s a problem. When you’re in the cage, it’s not hypothetical, it’s a fighter’s literal livelihood. Can we really leave that kind of responsibility in the hands of someone with a history of questionable calls?

Eric Nicksick’s criticism wasn’t just about this one fight either. “It’s deeper than yesterday,” Nicksick said, hinting that this issue has been brewing for a while with fighters like Sean Sharaf and Dan Ige and referee Mark Smith. A lot of fans are probably nodding along. We’ve all seen these issues with refereeing in MMA. Questionable calls aren’t exactly rare but they keep piling up. And if they’re not addressed, how long before we start questioning whether the whole system is flawed?

Will Dana White step up and actually do something about it? There’s no way Dana can keep ignoring these issues if they continue to pop up. Refereeing in the UFC isn’t exactly a shining example of consistency, and fans are getting tired of hearing the same old complaints. So what’s the play here? Shouldn’t the UFC be stepping in to make sure their fighters are getting the fair shot they deserve?

Curtis, despite being clearly shaken by the call, is no quitter. His emotional post-fight statement says it all. “Only job in the world where you can make 200k in a night and still be absolutely heartbroken and questioning where you go from here. No damage, I’m fine. Probably train tomorrow for my sanity, but just frustrated and heartbroken,” he said.

But what do you think? Is this just another one-off, or are we looking at a serious problem within the UFC? Should we just keep hoping it doesn’t happen again, or should we demand real change? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!