Chaos as fight involving former Manny Pacquiao rival sees referee punched twice in wild brawl

Rukiya Anpo's exhibition with Sina Karimian descended into chaos with a poor referee catching two huge punches.

Japanese fighter Anpo was due to fight boxing star Ryan Garcia in an exhibition on New Years Eve, but the American was forced to withdraw.

As a result, Iranian kickboxer Karimian stepped in at short notice to save the event which was promoted by Japanese organisation RIZIN.

Anpo had previous experience in the squared circle, having put on a surprising display to batter boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in a short exhibition in August this year.

And the 29-year-old wanted to put on a show for his fans again, as he graced the ring for the RIZIN 49: Decade show in front of a sea of fans in Saitama.

Anpo was on top for most of the fight, as his kickboxing rival failed to impress and was largely dominated despite the modified rules that had been agreed.

As many feared, the Iranian decided to abandon the boxing rules out of frustration.

He threw a spinning back fist shot which connected with Anpo, which was illegal despite the modified rules.

It initially looked like the Japanese star was unfazed by the shot, as the referee warned Karimian not to repeat his antics.

But instead it was the crowd favourite who sensationally decided it was his turn to break the rules.

He landed a spinning back fist of his own which too was breaking the rules, evening up their poor taste antics.

But a second illegal shot from Karimian sparked chaos, as the referee was then forced to step in and separate the pair.

Although in doing so, he stepped in the firing line as they began swinging wildly.

And the official unfortunately was first victim to a crushing left hook, which wobbled him and was a seriously character-building moment.

The fighters barely even noticed as they continued to brawl, unaware of the damage that the referee had taken.

Bravely, he decided to continue to intervene and put himself back in harms way, but he this time felt the power of the Iranian who in turn landed another booming punch.

Unfortunately the poor referee had been the victim of two crushing blows, and security eventually decided to intervene to bring a pause to the chaos.

A commentator on the fight shouted: “Oh no, the referee got hit! Oh no, the referee got hit again!

"Oh it’s a brawl! Security is coming in, it’s a brawl. The referee got hit twice! Both men broke the rules!”

Incredibly after the wild brawl and chaotic scenes were simmered down, a decision was still read out.

Neither fighter faced disqualification and it was Anpo who was declared a winner by unanimous decision.

Things may have been different had Garcia have stepped in the ring, given he would have been highly unlikely to defy the rules.