Things got out of hand at this amateur MMA bout when a fighter suffered a flash knockout, but then continued fighting, despite the referee’s efforts to stop him.

The fight between Larry Westbrook, in the cornrows and black trunks, and Andrew De Leon in the blue trunks, took place at a Cage Combat event, with both men making their MMA debut that night.

The first round was only four seconds old when Westbrook landed a straight right to the chin that dropped De Leon hard to the canvas for what appeared to be a flash knockout.

De Leon lay motionless on his front for a brief moment as the referee rushed in and pushed Westbrook away, seemingly bringing an end to the fight.

However, just then De Leon suddenly got to his knees and quickly spun around, grabbing a hold of one of Westbrook’s legs and managed to take him down.

De Leon seemed oblivious to the fact that the fight was over, and that the referee was trying to stop him, as he began to move into full mount.

That led to a bizarre three-man struggle in the cage, as the referee grappled with the two fighters on the mat in an attempt to bring the situation back under control.

Finally the ref was able to make De Leon come to his senses after grabbing him around the body and neck and pulling him back to his feet, but the fighter still seemed completely bemused as to why the fight had ended as he protested with the official.

The fans in attendance voiced their displeasure at the early stoppage afterwards, chanting bul*sh*t as the decision was being read out, but nonetheless, Westbrook emerged with the victory.

It can often be a thankless task being a referee, having to make split-second decisions like this in the heat of the moment.

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On this occasion the referee’s first instinct was to protect the young fighter after what he perceived to be a knockout blow, and it’s hard to judge him too harshly for that, even if there is an argument to be made that it was an early stoppage.