UFC referee Vyacheslav Kiselev removed from assignment after much-criticized fight

Just minutes after Vyacheslav Kiselev refereed the fight between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Benoit Saint-Denis, he was removed from his next assignment at UFC 267. He will be replaced by veteran referee Marc Goddard.

"Thank you. Thank you. It's the right thing to do and I'm glad the UFC acted accordingly and very quickly to take him away from the arena," commentator Daniel Cormier said after the ESPN broadcast announced Kiselev was pulled for the remainder of the card.

Kiselev presided over a one-sided fight in which Zaleski dos Santos dominated Saint-Denis and poured on a flurry in the second round. Despite cries from commentators Cormier and Paul Felder to stop the fight, it was allowed to continue as Saint-Denis staggered around the Octagon to avoid Zaleski dos Santos. 

In the third round, Kiselev took a point from Zaleski dos Santos for a groin strike, which Cormier and Felder criticized as a harsh punishment to come without a warning. Zaleski dos Santos still won 29-26 on all three judges' scorecard.

Kiselev was set to referee a main card bout between top 10 light heavyweights Volkan Oezdemir and Magomed Ankalaev. He has previously refereed at a few UFC events held in Russia as well as UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.