‘Big’ John McCarthy defends referee Herb Dean after recent officiating controversies

Longtime official and analyst ‘Big’ John McCarthy came to referee Herb Dean’s defense after a string of recent controversies.

Referee Herb Dean has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over a series of controversial officiating decisions in several UFC fights.

Dean, a former MMA fighter and longtime official, refused to deduct points from middleweight star Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov during his fight against Michel Pereira at UFC Baku last weekend. Magomedov accidentally eye-poked Pereira and pulled Pereira’s hair without any punishment from Dean.

Dean is also in former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s crosshairs after Ciryl Gane appeared to land several blows to the back of Pereira’s head at UFC Freedom 250. Pereira has publicly called for Dean to be removed from his officiating role and has even teased retirement as opposed to potentially fighting under Dean’s officiating.

‘Big’ John McCarthy, one of the most famous combat sports referees of all-time, believes Dean and other officials are constantly under unfair scrutiny from fans, pundits, and fighters.

‘Big’ John McCarthy pushes Herb Dean, other referees to admit officiating mistakes

In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, McCarthy weighed in on Dean’s recent run of controversial moments officiating high-profile fights.

“I tell people all of the time – we’re human. I don’t care who you are as an official; you’re going to make mistakes. The sport is too fast, too many things going on to sit there and say you won’t make mistakes,” McCarthy said of Dean.

“I think that right now…the fans have become media [members] through social media. They have the right to say whatever they want, to have their opinion, and all of that is fine. But at this moment, they’re good at attacking officials over the slightest thing that happens. Every official is what I call the flavor of the week, flavor of the month, because they had a score that someone didn’t like or made a call they didn’t like…

“Are the fans in a position to want perfection? Sure, they are. Do we want perfection? Yes, we do. Is it possible? Not in every fight,” McCarthy continued. “We try, but there’s always something and that’s why I’m talking with my peers, telling them to be honest. If you could’ve done something better, what was it? What could you have done that would’ve been possibly a better outcome? We’re never going to be exactly what everybody wants.”

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