A female MMA fighter broke her male rival's nose with a vicious headbutt - moments after she lost a challenge on Romanian Survivor.

Ana Maria Pal, 26, from Bacau, had been taking part in a reward challenge on the reality TV show when her competitor Lola managed to complete the task first.

But rather than accept her defeat gracefully, Ms Pal appeared to lose her temper when a man from the competing 'tribe' came over to console her.

In a clip from the show, Andrei Ciobanu is seen walking over to the MMA fighter saying 'it's hard, Ana. It's hard!' moments after she suffered her defeat.

Pal is the second-highest ranking MMA fighter in Romania and started fighting after becoming a mother at the age of 19.

In the clip, MMA fighter Ana Marie Pal headbutts Andrei Ciobanu and reportedly breaks his nose after losing a challenge in Romanian Survivor

As he continues to speak, Ms Pal lashes out at Mr Ciobanu - before delivering a powerful headbutt which reportedly broke the contestant's nose.

The victim then falls to the ground clutching his face as Ms Pal throws a ball she was holding over her shoulder and storms away from the scene.

Ms Pal was immediately booted off the show, which was filming in the Dominican Republic, after declaring that her rival 'deserved' the vicious assault.

Producers of the Kanal D show said she had violated the rules of the competition with her unsportsmanlike gesture.

The victim then falls to the ground clutching his face as Ms Pal throws a ball she was holding over her shoulder and storms away from the scene

Ms Pal (pictured) was immediately booted off the show, which was filming in the Dominican Republic, after declaring her rival 'deserved' the vicious assault

'I saw a terrible moment, a shocking moment. I saw a competitor hit in the face by another competitor,' the show's presenter Dan Cruceru told CanCan.

'Unfortunately, Ana Pal lost her temper. What Ana did was a shocking gesture, a gesture that we hoped we would not see.

'We will not tolerate such behavior in Survivor, and our decision was that Ana Pal should not return to the island.'

Mr Ciobanu dubbed the attack a 'very ugly gesture', adding that the decision to remove her from the show was the 'right decision'.

Ms Pal (pictured) reportedly turned to the sport after she became a mother when she was 19

Another Romanian fighter, Diana Belbita, condemned Ms Pal's actions on Instagram after the incident aired on Tuesday.

'I cannot agree with the gesture tonight of Ana Maria Pal,' she said. 'It is not a typical gesture for performance fighters and I would like to avoid generalising.'

'If Ana made this gesture, she's the only one who takes it… This is not a typical gesture for a fighter, Ana Maria is the only one who assumes the consequences.'

Ms Pal has a professional MMA (mixed martial arts) record of 2-3-0 and is ranked second of 15 'active' female fighters in Romania.