Another UFC event and yet another Herb Dean controversy. For a while now, the veteran referee has been called out repeatedly by fans and fighters alike for failing to penalize multiple illegal strikes during high-stakes showdowns. Well, that pattern continued as Dean once again failed to call out an illegal strike at UFC Oklahoma City tonight.

In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier faced surging contender Christian Leroy Duncan in a stellar showdown. Though fans expected the 185ers to fire from the opening bell, both fighters remained cautious in the first round, with ‘CLD’ leading the dance with his leg kicks. However, the Englishman showed more urgency in the second round by knocking Cannonier off balance with a spinning wheel kick. Sensing a finish, Duncan followed up with a knee that missed, but his shin ended up landing on a grounded Cannonier. 

Now, under the Unified MMA Rules, knees or kicks to a grounded opponent are considered illegal. Despite this, referee Herb Dean let it slide and allowed the action to continue.

Fortunately for Cannonier, ‘CLD’s strike didn’t compromise him too badly, as the former title challenger managed to get back to his feet. Still, Duncan tagged ‘The Killa Gorilla’ multiple times with spinning elbows and straight punches. By the third round, it looked quite evident that Cannonier needed a finish. Instead, he decided to rely on his grappling to close out the fight.  Ultimately, it wasn’t enough for Cannonier to take the victory, as the Englishman secured a unanimous decision win at UFC Oklahoma. 

That said, this is one of the many times Herb Dean has found himself entangled in controversy this year. Most notably, the veteran referee came under fire for not calling out Alex Pereira’s opponent, Ciryl Gane’s back-of-the-head shots during their UFC White House clash. Livid with the officiating, ‘Poatan’ urged the promotion to remove Herb Dean from his job and also threatened to pursue legal action against the veteran referee. But that’s not all. 

After the UFC Freedom 250 controversy, Herb Dean also faced criticism from featherweight fighter Andre Fili for failing to call out illegal rabbit punches during his UFC Vegas 119 fight, which only intensified the backlash. Yet, the 55-year-old’s contentious officiating continued at the UFC Baku event.  

The veteran referee officiated the bout between Shara Magomedov and Michel Pereira, where he once again stirred massive controversy. Despite the Russian committing multiple fouls, Dean didn’t deduct a point and instead opted to only warn ‘Bullet.’ As a result, Pereira lost the bout against Shara, which turned out to be his fourth loss in five fights. For that, the UFC axed the Brazilian from it’s roster. 

Though Christian Leroy Duncan clearly outclassed Jared Cannonier, fans didn’t mince their words while calling out Herb Dean for missing the illegal strike in the co-main event. 

Fans react to Herb Dean missing an illegal strike at UFC Oklahoma co-main event 

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “CLD launches an illegal knee at Cannonier (thankfully didn’t land bad) and Herb Dean says nothing. Just an absolute liability in there at this point.” 

After that, a different fan continued the backlash, claiming the longtime referee is actually blind: “Herb Dean is either completely blind or simply too ignorant at this point. 🤦‍♂️ That was an illegal knee from Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Oklahoma City.” Then another user wrote, “What’s Herb going to do anyway, give them a warning? 😂😂” 

Recently at UFC 329, a similar incident happened when UFC flyweight Tracy Cortez’s opponent, Wang Cong, landed an illegal knee that prompted referee Jason Herzog to immediately deduct a point. Though the Chinese fighter eventually won the fight, Herzog received praise for taking swift action. But as fans applauded Herzog, they also took a shot at Herb Dean, suggesting he would have simply issued a warning and nothing more. 

Here, the fans appeared to be expressing that same sentiment. However, they doubled down on their backlash, with many suggesting it’s finally time for Herb Dean to say goodbye to the sport. 

A fan wrote, “Not a word Not a single word from Herb Dean as Christian Leroy Duncan throws a nuclear missile of a knee at Jared Cannonier as he’s down. Not a warning, nothing. He needs to retire.” Then another fan feels, “Herb Dean just missed an illegal knee in round 2 He needs to be fired. NOW.”  

Well, that decision ultimately rests in the hands of the athletic commissions, which appoint referees like Herb Dean for fights and not the UFC. That said, with another major wave of criticism heading Dean’s way, will the athletic commissions finally step in? We don’t know, but it would certainly be interesting to see if they offer any response in the future.