diff --git a/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.c b/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.c
index 7d748e460d6..e7677009f79 100644
--- a/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.c
+++ b/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.c
@@ -289,10 +289,10 @@ fd_pipe_fence_set_batch(struct pipe_fence_handle *fence, struct fd_batch *batch)
 {
    if (batch) {
       assert(!fence->batch);
-      fence->batch = batch;
+      fd_batch_reference(&fence->batch, batch);
       fd_batch_needs_flush(batch);
    } else {
-      fence->batch = NULL;
+      fd_batch_reference(&fence->batch, NULL);
 
       /* When the batch is dis-associated with the fence, we can signal TC
        * that the fence is flushed
diff --git a/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.h b/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.h
index 30d568ac82c..2bd4c581c7b 100644
--- a/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.h
+++ b/src/gallium/drivers/freedreno/freedreno_fence.h
@@ -44,13 +44,13 @@ struct pipe_fence_handle {
     */
    struct pipe_fence_handle *last_fence;
 
-   /* fence holds a weak reference to the batch until the batch is flushed, to
+   /* fence holds a reference to the batch until the batch is flushed, to
     * accommodate PIPE_FLUSH_DEFERRED.  When the batch is actually flushed, it
     * is cleared (before the batch reference is dropped).  If we need to wait
     * on a fence, and the batch is not NULL, we need to flush it.
     *
     * Note that with u_threaded_context async flushes, if a fence is requested
-    * by the frontend, the fence is initially created without a weak reference
+    * by the frontend, the fence is initially created without a reference
     * to the batch, which is filled in later when fd_context_flush() is called
     * from the driver thread.  In this case tc_token will be non-null, in
     * which case threaded_context_flush() should be called in fd_fence_finish()