A moment of win turned into agony for South Korean mixed martial artist Kim Ji-young at Top FC 24: Breakthrough in Seoul when the referee inadvertently caused what appears to be a serious leg injury while stopping the contest.
Kim Ji-young had just secured a second-round victory over Kim Jun-woo at the Textile Center venue, landing a precise left-hand body shot during a clinch near the cage that left his opponent unable to continue. As the official rushed in to halt the action, disaster struck.
Footage recorded shows the referee jumping between the two competitors to separate them. In the process, he landed directly on Kim Ji-young’s leg, severely twisting the athlete’s foot beneath his weight.
The 20-second clip captures Kim Ji-young immediately collapsing in visible distress despite having just earned an important win in front of his home crowd.
The extent of Kim Ji-young’s injury remains unclear, though the footage showing him writhing on the canvas suggests significant damage may have occurred. Whether his knee sustained structural damage has not been officially confirmed.
The victory represented a comeback for Kim Ji-young, who entered the bout with an 0-1 record following a first-round loss to Sung Tae Choi at a Top FC event in March. Both he and his opponent Kim Jun-woo appear to be relatively inexperienced athletes with no prior involvement in notable controversies.
The official’s identity was not publicly listed in records, making it impossible to determine whether similar incidents have occurred under his watch.
While referee-related injuries are rare in mixed martial arts, they do happen. At UFC 324, veteran official Mark Smith continued working through a bout between Ateba Gautier and Andrey Pulyaev despite rupturing his Achilles tendon.
In a 2018 PFL event, Jason High attempted to strike referee Dan Miragliotta after regaining consciousness following a submission loss to Natan Schulte, though the contact did not land cleanly.
No way. The referee just injured the fighter’s knee while he was stopping the fight in Korea. ACL’s gone, brother https://t.co/OvGlVtkk4C
— Matysek (@Matysek88) October 23, 2026
