MMA referee Herb Dean scolded by Brendan Schaub amid latest controversy: “He just doesn’t take responsibility”

Brendan Schaub is the latest MMA personality to take veteran referee Herb Dean to task.

Dean found himself at the center of controversy once again during the UFC Baku co-main event this past Saturday. He was the official inside the Octagon for the middleweight tilt between Sharabutdin Magomedov and Michel Pereira. Shara “Bullet” grabbed a full head of hair during the bout and Dean was slow to break things up, leading to criticism from UFC color commentator Michael Bisping.

While Dean delivered what was thought to be a stern warning to Magomedov, the fighter ended up poking Pereira in the eye and he wasn’t deducted a point. Shara “Bullet” ultimately won the fight via unanimous decision. UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall and surefire future Hall of Famer Alex Pereira criticized Dean for failing to take a point.

Add Schaub to the list of Dean’s critics. The former UFC fighter explained where he felt Dean went wrong during an edition of “Big Bear Breakdown” (via MMAFighting).

“The narrative on Magomedov’s fight against Michel Pereira, it’s not Shara Bullet,” Schaub said. “It’s Herb Dean has once again inserted himself into the controversy, and I think for Herb his issue is he doesn’t want to insert himself into the fight and be one of the reasons a fighter loses, stuff like that. But when you’re in that octagon, you’re the sheriff. You’ve got to make sure things are going according to code. You have to. That’s why you’re in there. He just doesn’t take responsibility.

”When he issued the statement or when he showed the video after the Poatan fight, I’m like, ‘Well, this ain’t good.’ Then you have the fight after that with our boy Fili, which is pretty evident, now it’s a common theme. It’s not happening to all referees, it’s happening to Herb Dean. This is three in a row. At some point, you have to insert yourself, and I just don’t understand why are you so scared to take a point? Why are you so scared?”

Pereira had his own gripes with Dean’s officiating during the UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner. “Poatan” faced Ciryl Gane in a bid to become the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. Gane rocked Pereira on the feet and rained down several elbows when Pereira was on the canvas. “Bon Gamin” won the fight via second-round TKO, but Pereira said he was hit in the back of the head multiple times and Dean never did anything about it.

With more fighters speaking out against Herb Dean, do you think athletic commissions will take action, or do you expect things to remain status quo? Sound off in the comments below.