MMA referee Yves Lavigne talks making a mistake at UFC 96 during the Matt Brown and Pete Sell fight with the Canadian Press:
Lavigne, generally considered on of the top-tier referees in MMA, said he made two mistakes — trying to stop the fight too early and then allowing it to go too long.
“I did let Mr. Sell take maybe — not maybe — I let him take a beating for absolutely nothing,” he told The Canadian Press. “So I didn't do my job properly. So basically, I screwed up. I screwed up and I'm going to learn from it and try not to do it again. … I'm going to make sure not to do it again.”
Brown stunned Sell with a Superman punch and several kicks to the head before flooring him with a left-right combination less than 30 seconds into the welterweight bout. Lavigne rushed in and appeared to stop the bout, grabbing Brown before he could hit Sell on the ground.