It looks like things have turned back to the way they were in just one week. In the UFC London main event last weekend, referee Marc Goddard wasted no time taking points away from Movsar Evloev for repeated low blows. And those kicks did not seem intentional either. Fast forward to Seattle last night, even the intentional fouls seemed to receive a hall pass.

At UFC Seattle, the lightweight clash between Ignacio Bahamondes and Tofiq Musayev had everything you want from a firefight—knockdowns, submission attempts, a bad cut, and momentum swings. The numbers back it up, too. Bahamondes dropped Musayev early in round two and nearly finished him. Musayev answered by opening up a huge cut over Bahamonde’s right eye with a powerful elbow. He followed it up with control time, heavy ground strikes, and a late surge that sealed a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27).

But instead of the performance, fans walked away talking about what wasn’t called. Fouls, missed warnings, and a referee who never stepped in when many felt he should have. Veteran journalist Adam Martin didn’t hold back on referee Bobby Wombacher during the fight as he live-posted his shock at what was unfolding inside the cage.

“OMG Musayev headbutted Bahamondes and the ref didn’t say anything. This is insane.” Martin wrote on X. “The ref just missed a blatant fence grab, and the fight has completely turned. It’s not fair you can cheat in MMA and get away with it like this! The ref should have taken 2 points from Musayev, one for a fence grab stopping a TD and one for a nasty head butt. This ref is letting Musayev get away with murder.”

That’s the crux of the issue—not just that fouls happened, but that they went unpunished by Wombacher. In a fight decided on the scorecards, even one point deduction can flip the result. Two? That’s a different outcome entirely. And when you factor in how close the rounds were, especially rounds one and three, the frustration starts to make sense.

Bahamondes’ teammate and former UFC champion Belal Muhammad also voiced his frustration on X. ‘Bully B’ wrote, “My brother fought his heart out .. fence grab changed everything with no consequence and head butt changed everything .. these refs are changing fighters lives and they don’t care.”

What made it worse was the broader context of the night. Earlier on the card, there was a scoring mix-up in the Marcin Tybura vs Tyrell Fortune fight where the wrong winner was initially announced. Another fight between Adrian Yanez and Ricky Simon ended in a draw that many fans didn’t agree with. So by the time Bahamondes vs Musayev wrapped up at UFC Seattle, patience was already thin. And that’s when the emtional reactions really took over.

Fans are up in arms at the officiating at UFC Seattle for Ignacio Bahamondes vs Tofiq Musayev and more

One fan wrote, “This ref a long lost brother of Chris Tognoni?” That’s not random. Referee Chris Tognoni has been long criticized before for inconsistent calls, so this comparison to Wombacher is fans using shorthand. When referees let fights flow too much without intervention, it can feel like the rules are optional. And in a fight this chaotic, that perception grows quickly.

Another fan wrote, as the fight was still happening, “Should’ve been deducted 2 points and he hasn’t stopped the fight once.” This goes straight to the scoring impact. Two-point deductions in a 29-28 type fight change everything. Fans aren’t only complaining about rules being broken; they’re calculating outcomes. That’s when frustration becomes more analytical.

Another reaction read, “So fouls are legal now?” It was short, sarcastic, but effective. It reflects how viewers felt at the moment. When multiple infractions go unchecked, the trust in the officiating drops fast.

Someone else added, “If this isn’t the most obvious appeal and overturn, then idk what is.” Now we’re talking consequences. Appeals in MMA rarely succeed, but fans still bring it up when they feel something crossed the line. That tells you how strong the reaction was. It’s not just about criticism anymore; it’s about wanting the result reviewed.

Finally, one fan summed up the night as they pointed out all the misses from the event: “The reffing and judging incompetence tonight has been embarrassing 1. Several missed fouls Baha/Tofiq 2. Wrong winner announced for Tybura / Fortune  3. Draw when it should have been a clean win for Adrian Yanez.” When fans, analysts, and even live observers like Adam Martin are all pointing to the same missed moments, it shifts the focus from performance to process. And that’s a bigger problem.

This is because fights can be close, and judges can disagree. That’s part of the sport. But rules are supposed to be consistent. If fouls don’t lead to warnings or deductions, especially in a fight where momentum swings are razor-thin, then the outcome starts to feel conditional. Not definitive.

For Ignacio Bahamondes, that’s where the frustration likely sits. He had moments at UFC Seattle—a knockdown, a near finish with ground strikes. But if key sequences were influenced by missed calls, then it raises a fair question: Shouldn’t Bahamondes be the winner of the fight?