A single, violent kick at UFC Vegas 115 has the MMA world questioning fighter safety after the controversial kick left one fighter seemingly knocked out and peers crying foul. During the prelims at the Meta Apex tonight, the women’s flyweight bout between Dione Barbosa and Melissa Gatto took a sudden turn in the second round when Barbosa delivered a brutal and illegal soccer kick to Gatto’s chin.

The soccer kick left Gatto flat on the canvas, forcing the referee, Chris Tognoni, to intervene and yell time. What made the strike seemingly illegal was that Gatto, after being on her back, was attempting to get back to her feet when Barbosa, who was standing over her, launched the kick. Under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, kicking or kneeing a grounded opponent in the head remains a foul that can incur disqualification, handing the opponent a victory.

But what constitutes “grounded” remained the point of contention here. As a result, the fight was paused for a full five minutes while commission officials reviewed the footage of the kick and ringside physicians attended to Gatto. However, in the end, the officials weren’t able to conclusively determine that Gatto’s hand and shin were on the ground at the time of the kick.

As such, Tognoni decided to deduct a point from Dione Barbosa for the kick and allowed the fight to continue. Though Melissa Gatto fought on till the end, when the fight went to the scorecards, the judges awarded the decision to Barbosa.

Dione Barbosa won the fight by majority decision. Two judges scored the fight 29-27, 29-27 in Barbosa’s favor, while the third gave it a 28-28 draw. However, despite the win, the controversial moment drew passionate responses from UFC fighters as well as the larger MMA fanbase.

Pros join fans to lash out at Dione Barbosa

UFC Women’s flyweight Casey O’Neill commented, “Woahhhh huge illegal kick 😱 #UFCVegas115. What is going on #ufcvegas115.” O’Neill herself returned to action last weekend, winning a first-round knockout over Gabriella Fernandes. Another fighter echoed the same sentiment but took it further. Former UFC star Jeff Molina stated, “This is how people die. Insane sequences in MMA never fail to shock tf out of me.”

Fans also joined the conversation. “Only sport where you can be illegally kicked in the head & they force you to continue, you can’t make it up,” the user commented. Gatto could have stopped the fight after she got up. But then she could have lost the fight.

Someone else felt Gatto could have died in the Octagon. “Insane reffing. She was out cold. That’s how you get fighters dying in the ring,” the user commented. While fatalities have happened in other MMA promotions, no such incident has yet taken place in the UFC.

UFC flyweight Charles Johnson, however, had other ideas. “That is not a foul! If [the] knee is off [the] ground, it’s not a foul anymore, [and] hands can be down,” he wrote. “Bisping [is] completely wrong here, she faked passing out for the point. [The] fight should’ve then [gone] to Barbosa via KO after review.” However, despite multiple replays, whether Gatto’s knee was off the canvas or on remained inconclusive, thus allowing the fight to continue.

While the judges’ scorecards and a point deduction decided the fight’s outcome, the inconclusive replays ensure the debate over the kick’s legality will linger long after the event.