There has never been any love lost between UFC President Dana White and heavyweight Roy Nelson.

The two have verbally sparred for years over one issue or another, but the latest dustup between the two has White fuming at a different level.

This past weekend in Brazil, the Las Vegas-based Nelson grabbed headlines around the MMA world for using his foot to push referee John McCarthy after what Nelson deemed to be a late stoppage in his fight against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. Nelson believed Silva was finished after a huge uppercut dropped "Bigfoot" to the canvas, followed by two more blasts which found the Brazilian's chin.

Nelson looked over at McCarthy to stop the fight, and when he was forced to throw two more punches that went unanswered, Nelson up and walked away just as the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Nelson's anger was obvious, and he let his emotions get the best of him by walking back and kicking McCarthy in his backside.

While White understands the Octagon can be a hectic and chaotic realm, the UFC frontman stressed there is never a situation where it's acceptable for a fighter to touch a referee inside the cage.

"You can't apologize for that," White told the UFC Unfiltered podcast. "You don't ever put your f****** hands or feet on a referee for any reason whatsoever. You don't do it. He needs to be buried. You want to flip a referee off (that's one thing), but there is never, ever a situation where you put your hands on a referee.

"We'll see how the athletic commission handles that, but he needs to be buried."

Although White has his own feelings on the matter, Nelson's punishment, or lack thereof, will ultimately be decided by the athletic commission that governed the action in Brazil.

White believes the commission needs to come down hard on Nelson, because contact with an official should not be tolerated.

"If the Brazilian Athletic Commission doesn't rain on him, it won't be good. I don't care what the circumstances are. We don't always agree with him. We have our favorites, or least favorites, (referee Steve) Mazzagatti," White said. "Whatever you feel about him, they're there for your protection. John McCarthy is very qualified and has been here a lot longer than Roy Nelson has been. The referee is there checking on 'Bigfoot' and you go and f****** kick him?"