Unexpected Incident at UFC 330: Referee Blake Grice Takes an Elbow

During UFC 330 on Saturday, referee Blake Grice faced an unforeseen event. While officiating the middleweight match between unbeaten fighter Donte Johnson and seasoned striker Eric McConico, Grice took an accidental elbow to the head.

The match concluded swiftly in 1 minute and 38 seconds when Johnson connected a straight left hand to McConico’s chin. As McConico fell, Johnson attempted a follow-up strike. Seeing this, Grice intervened to stop further damage, putting himself where Johnson’s left elbow accidentally landed.

Footage showing a dazed Grice circulated on social media as he tried to recover briefly in the Octagon. Following the fight, Johnson publicly apologized to Grice for the inadvertent strike during a media session.

I’m 2-0 on the night — who else wants some? Johnson joked. I’m just kidding. I’m sorry Mr. ref. I’ll buy you a cheesesteak or something, but I didn’t mean to do that.

Grice seemed unharmed, making social media jests about the incident easier to handle. Users were quick to joke about Johnson’s unintentional contribution to the evening’s events.

One fan commented, “Donte Johnson should get 2 KO UFC performance bonuses. One for McConico and the other for that back elbow on referee Blake Grice.”

Another mentioned, “Respect to the ref, got an iron chin. Let’s see the kid in fighting shorts next time.”

A third user quipped, “Bro got 2 knockouts in one night is that a 200k bonus.”

Another advised, “Protect yourself at all times, Ref.”