Yesterday, we discussed the Yves Lavigne fallout from UFC 102 and the precarious position that referees are in when officiating MMA bouts.

One very interesting thought that came to me at the close of yesterday's article was the strange double standard in place where referees are criticized for their action or in-action, while fighters are praised for fighting until the bell, even when that means throwing an unnecessary blow or two.

The question for today is: Shouldn't fighter safety fall on everyone, the fighters included?

Much to my friend and colleague Katrina Belcher's dismay, I once again turn to the Dan Henderson's fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 100 to begin this discussion.

By now everyone has seen the clips and heard the comments; Hendo landed a deadly right hand to Bisping's jaw, knocking him out cold before following his fallen opponent to the mat with an additional forearm to the head.

While many will say that fighters are taught to keep going until the ref stops you, and cite things like football where you "play to the whistle," Henderson himself admitted that it was an unnecessary blow, intended "to shut him up."

Conversely, UFC 102 gave us a terrific example of restraint and intelligence in the form of Nathan Marquardt.

Just 20 seconds into his fight with Demian Maia, the former King of Pancrase landed a deadly right hand that sent the jiu jitsu ace spinning in the air before crashing to the mat face-first. Marquardt stood over his opponent, fist clenched, ready to deliver another blow, but stopped himself.

Some have called this a mistake, saying Marquardt would look like a fool if Demian Maia had rolled into a kneebar and ended the fight.

Exactly how many times have we seen fighters get drilled in the jaw, spin in the air, land on their head and roll into a kneebar to end a fight?

Marquardt knew his opponent was finished and saw no reason to inflict more punishment and should be applauded for his class, restraints and protecting his fellow fighter.

We criticize the referees when fights go on too long, shouting about fighter safety, but disregard that same stance when we think fights are stopped too early.

And why is fighter safety the sole responsibility of the referee?

Each man or woman who takes that ring should have concern for the other people in the ring, and for the most part they do.

That is why you see the victor go over and check on their fallen opponent more often than not, and why restraint like Nate Marquardt showed should be applauded.

Delivering another strike to a clearly dazed Maia wouldn't have changed the outcome of the fight; Maia was already out and Marquardt knew that, so why throw another punch just because the referee hasn't jumped in front of you?

Dan Henderson has been fighting long enough to know that he can knock people out with his right hand.

Everyone watching that fight knew Dan Henderson could knock people out with his right hand, except for maybe Michael Bisping.

So when Hendo connected and Bisping fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, the former Pride champion should be acutely aware that his British counterpart wasn't going to get back up.

While the referee may not have been in position to "save" Bisping at that time, a small part of Henderson should also be thinking about saving Bisping...