Herb Dean Reacts to Francis Ngannou’s Comments on Stipe Miocic Stoppage

Published 05/03/2021, 2:16 AM EDT

Herb Dean is one of the best referees, if not the best referee in MMA. He is more often than not tasked with handling the biggest fights in the UFC. As a referee, Dean is responsible for recognizing when a fighter can no longer defend himself. At that point, he has the responsibility to step in and stop the fighter from absorbing any more damage. Dean’s quick actions at UFC 260 in the Francis Ngannou vs Stipe Miocic fight drew a lot of praise.

‘The Predator’ was one of the names who lauded the referee. He appeared on Mike Tyson’s podcast, ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson’, where he praised the veteran referee for his quick stoppage in his fight against Stipe Miocic.

He said, “No, honestly I watched this fight and I saw Herb Dean’s action and I think it should be the performance of the night. Did you see how fast he ran? He was moving backwards, and then after the action you see how fast he moved in? The guy was on notice. He knew that if Francis touch him, don’t let (Francis) touch him again” (h/t by middleasy.com)

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Herb Dean; One of the best in the business

In a recent interview, Helen Yee asked Dean what he made of Ngannou’s comments about his stoppage. The referee replied, “That was funny. Thanks for appreciating me. Francis, I try really hard to do a good job for you guys. And it is nice to get a little respect for it. But yeah, I thought that was funny.”

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In his fight against Stipe, the Cameroonian faked a right hand and followed that up with a straight left that hit the button. As soon as the punch landed, Miocic hit the canvas. The champion was able to recover and get back to his feet. However, once he returned to a vertical base, Stipe, who was extremely aggressive, rushed into a check left hook from Ngannou that ended his reign.

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Francis Ngannou landed one devastating hammer fist while Miocic was unconscious on the ground. However, before he could land any more punches, Dean stepped in and wisely called the fight.

What did you make of Francis Ngannou’s praise for Herb Dean? Let us know in the comments below!

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Kevin Binoy is an MMA author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA writing team, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.

Herb Dean Reacts to Francis Ngannou’s Comments on Stipe Miocic Stoppage

Herb Dean; One of the best in the business

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