Referee Herb Dean called for a review of the finish of the Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta fight and discussed it on The Ariel Helwani Show.
Herb Dean is one of the most highly-regarded officials in the sport of MMA today. Any time a marquee MMA event needs a referee for a tentpole fight, Herb Dean is often the one to receive the assignment to be the man in the middle of the action.
Oftentimes, however, when Dean serves as the arbiter of a fight, controversy can ensue. In the past, he’s refereed bouts where fans and competitors have alleged Dean stopped the contest too late, like in February of this year.
That weekend, Dean was assigned to work the fight between Benoit Saint-Denis and Dan Hooker during UFC 325 in Sydney, a contest won by the former due to ground and pound shots in the final moments of the second round, but Jorge Masvidal took exception to the unneeded punches Saint-Denis scored en route to the finish, saying on YouTube after the fight “I don’t know how this dude is still refereeing. What is he waiting for?”
Herb Dean Stands by Decision to Call for Replay Review in Ariel Helwani Show Interview
Over the weekend in MVP MMA 1, in Inglewood, CA, Herb Dean was the referee for the contracted catchweight contest at 130 lbs matching Adriano Moraes (22-6 MMA, 1-0 MVP) with Phumi Nkuta (11-1 MMA, 0-1 MVP.) Moraes won the bout by way of technical submission due to rear-naked choke at 4:59 into the third and final round of action.
Herb Dean conferred with his fellow referees and examined the replay of the fight-ending sequence before confirming Moraes as the victor. On the Monday edition of The Ariel Helwani Show, the veteran official joined Helwani as a guest and discussed the rationale for going to the videotape.
“First of all, I’m certain that the right decision was made,” Herb Dean began. “What I saw was at the end, got caught in a rear-naked choke, he was palm-to-palm grip. I believe it was after the clapper, the 10-second clapper, but it was right at the end. was giving it everything he’s got because he’s got the opportunity.”
Herb Dean on Stoppage
From there, the arbiter mentioned what happened as he called a halt to the proceedings Saturday night.
“There was a fraction of a second where he held onto the choke,” he said. “Because of that, I wasn’t exactly sure I wanted to make sure I saw what happened and when things happened, so I went and looked at a replay. That’s not the new replay we’ve had for that situation. We’ve had the ability to do that replay for a long time in the rules because it was a fight-ending situation.”
Herb Dean Watches Playback of Submission During Helwani Interview
Ariel Helwani then ran the highlight of the finish twice, once with the full broadcast audio and once without, affording Herb Dean the opportunity to break down the film of the submission with Helwani and his viewing audience.
“I see that he’s going after the rear-naked choke,” Dean continued. “I’m like, ‘Man, you don’t much time to get this,’ but he goes straight to it, has it locked in. As we’re getting close to the end, I’m thinking that the bell’s going to sound and I’m going to have to fight hands.”
Dean mentioned that he wants to examine a contestant’s body in the event of a potential rear-naked choke submission.
“The hands and often the legs are what’s going to give you your clue that someone’s out, whereas looking at their face won’t,” he explained. “As it’s time for me to stop the fight, of course, I’m looking at his hands because I’m trying to figure out which grips he has and what I might have to fight if he’s not letting go instantly.”
