Herb Dean News

Adam D Martin - October 5, 2021

MMA referee Herb Dean explained why he did not stop the recent Brian Ortega vs. Alexander Volkanovski featherweight title fight at UFC 266. During the Ortega vs. Volkanovski fight, Ortega appeared to have trouble making it to his stool, and he also appeared to have vision issues. However, Dean let the fight continue. Speaking to Helen Yee in a recent interview, Dean defended not stopping the fight.

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259. In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou praised referee Herb Dean for his stoppage in the Stipe Miocic rematch that took place at UFC 260. Ngannou knocked Miocic down in the second round with a powerful punch that saw the former champ fall to the canvas in a scary fashion as his leg was bent backward. Thankfully, Dean was able to rush in and stop the fight, but not after Ngannou landed a huge hammer fist on his downed opponent that knocked him out cold. Some fans were critical of Dean as they believed that he way late in stopping the fight, but as far as Ngannou goes — the man who knows better than anyone — Dean did a good job.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021

Dan Hardy doesn’t understand why Herb Dean is considered the gold standard of MMA referees. Dean is often the man in charge of UFC main events, however, Hardy believes he is constantly making mistakes. The two haven’t gotten along since their Fight Island incident last summer where Hardy was seen yelling to stop the fight when Francisco Trinaldo was landing heavy punches against Jai Herbert.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

John McCarthy has assessed Herb Dean’s performance at UFC Vegas 19. In the main event of the card, Dean was the third man in the Octagon for Derrick Lewis vs Curtis Blaydes. In the early going, Dean was doing a solid job monitoring the eye pokes. Yet, as Lewis landed the KO punch, “The Black Beast” followed it up with some more shots. He said it was Herb Dean’s fault, but John McCarthy believes Dean did everything he was supposed to.

Harry Kettle - January 26, 2021

UFC commentator Dan Hardy has revived his “feud” with Herb Dean over his stoppage in the Amanda Ribas fight at UFC 257. Ribas was beaten by Marina Rodriguez this past weekend through a string of vicious attacks, but after a moment of hesitation, the aforementioned Herb Dean allowed the fight to go on for a few seconds longer – which caused Ribas to sustain even more damage from Rodriguez.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2020

UFC commentator Dan Hardy has updated on the status of his beef with famed MMA referee Herb Dean. Hardy, who spent many years competing in the UFC welterweight division, had words with Dean during a July 25 UFC card on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The incident occured during a fight between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert, when many onlookers—Hardy included—felt Dean stopped the action too late, subjecting the vanquished Herbert to unnecessary punishment.

Christopher Taylor - July 26, 2020

John McCarthy has shared his thoughts on referee Herb Dean’s controversial stoppage in Saturday’s Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert fight. The lightweight contest, which served as the featured prelim of UFC Fight Island 3, was called off shortly after Trinaldo landed a hard punch that sent Herbert crashing to the canvas.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2020

The UFC will investigate an on-air confrontation between referee Herb Dean and commentator Dan Hardy, which occured at UFC Fight Island 3 on Saturday. The controversy occurred in a lightweight contest between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert. In the third round, Trinaldo leveled Herbert with an overhand left. The impact clearly left Herbert unconcious, but Dean neglected to stop the action, leaving Trinaldo to land two additional and concussive strikes.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2020

UFC commentator Dan Hardy was livid about a UFC Fight Island 3 officiating blunder from referee Herb Dean, and he wasn’t afraid to show it. The controversy occurred in a lightweight contest between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert. In the third round, Trinaldo leveled Herbert with an overhand left. The impact clearly left Herbert unconcious, but Dean neglected to stop the action, leaving Trinaldo to land two additional and concussive strikes.

Tom Taylor - May 13, 2020

Veteran MMA referee Herb Dean has reacted to Dominick Cruz’s incendiary accusations against Keith Peterson, who officiated his UFC 249 fight with Henry Cejudo. Cruz was defeated by Cejudo by second-round TKO, but immediately protested Peterson’s decision to end the fight. He later accused the referee of smelling like alcohol and cigarettes, and during a Monday interview with ESPN, doubled down on these accusations.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

One of the most anticipated features of the UFC 235 bill was a welterweight showdown between former UFC champ Robbie Lawler and former ONE and Bellator champ Ben Askren. Regrettably, this bout ended in controversy. Mid-way through the first round, Askren locked up a bulldog choke that appeared to lull Lawler to sleep. After referee Herb Dean stopped the action, however, Lawler protested, and the replay revealed that he might not have actually gone out.

Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019

At UFC 235, former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler was tasked with welcoming former ONE and Bellator champ Ben Askren to the Octagon. In the opening seconds of the first round it looked as though Lawler would spoil Askren’s debut, as he executed a beautiful slam and nearly finished the wrestler with a storm of ground strikes. Miraculously, however, Askren was able to weather this storm and lock up a bulldog choke for the victory.

Tom Taylor - September 19, 2018

Last Saturday, on the UFC Moscow card, middleweight veteran CB Dollaway stepped into the cage with Russia’s Khalid Murtazaliev. The fight got tremendously ugly for the American. Toward the end of round two, CB Dollaway found himself in bottom position, absorbing a meteor shower of ground strikes unleashed by Murtazaliev. Before long, it became clear that Dollaway was in danger, as he absorbed repeated blows to the head, and failed to adequately defend himself. Despite this grim scene, referee Herb Dean did not stop the fight. Instead, he let the round end, at which point an exhausted, barely-conscious CB Dollaway essentially had to peeled off the canvas.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Dustin Poirier picked up one of the biggest wins of his career, stopping former champ Eddie Alvarez with a second-round volley. Unfortunately, Poirier’s win was shadowed by a bit of controversy. Moments before Poirier poured on the offence to get the TKO, Alvarez had him in full-mount against the cage. After Alvarez grabbed the fence, clawed Poirier’s ear, and landed a 12-6 elbow — all illegal maneuvers — referee Marc Goddard stood the pair up and re-set them in the standing position.

bjpenndotcom - May 16, 2017

Saturday night in the preliminary card main event of UFC 211, former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez stepped into the Octagon against streaking lightweight Dustin Poirier for a highly anticipated showdown. Dustin Poirier began to land early, stunning Alvarez with hard shots throughout the first round before ultimately then rocking Alvarez in the second. Miraculously, Alvarez survived the brutal onslaught, and even managed to flip the script as he rocked Porier in the second. This unfortunately led to a sequence of events that saw a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate cut short as Alvarez unintentionally landed several illegal knees that dropped Poirier, who was deemed a ‘grounded fighter’ at the time of the knees.

bjpenndotcom - January 6, 2017

In the main event of UFC 207, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returned to the Octagon to fight Amanda Nunes in a highly anticipated showdown. Just 48 seconds into the fight, referee Herb Dean was forced to call a bout after Rousey continued to eat unanswered shots, noticeably out on her feet. That didn’t sit too well with Michael Rapaport, who appeared on Fox Sports 1 to explain that the stoppage was premature, and that he believes Rousey was saved by “white girl privilege”.

Russell Ess - January 5, 2017

Herb Dean was the referee for the UFC 207 main event championship fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey.