Herb Dean may have only been a fraction of a second too late, but in the high-stakes game of MMA, that is a day late and a dollar short. It has become routine for the veteran referee to make the wrong headlines every time he officiates a fight. This time, it’s Netflix MMA’s debut event, where a fighter has gone to the CSAC to dispute the result and Dean’s call.
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Herb Dean received contentious reactions after his latest controversial stoppage during the Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta fight on Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano’s Netflix card. In the fight, Nkuta was on his way to beating the former ONE titleholder as he was ahead on the scorecards. However, Moraes locked in a rear-naked choke in the final moments and held it for almost two seconds after the bell sounded. Dean and the cage officials then took time to review the finish on replay, which ultimately resulted in Moraes being awarded a technical submission win. After that stoppage, many felt Dean stopped the fight a few seconds too late, but the veteran referee believes the stoppage was justified.
“So, first of all, I believe, I’m certain that the right decision was made,” Dean told Ariel Helwani. “And what I saw was towards the end, he got caught in a rear-naked choke. You know, he was palm-to-palm grip and, man, he was giving it everything he’s got because, you know, here’s the opportunity. When I stopped the match, there was a second, not a second, there was a fraction of a second where he held on to the choke.
“And because of that, I wasn’t exactly sure. It gave me some,(time) you know, I wanted to make sure I saw what happened and when things happened. So, I went and looked at a replay. For that situation, that’s not the new replay. We’ve had the ability to do that replay for a long time in the rules because it was a fight-ending situation.”
After Herb Dean stopped the fight between Adriano Moraes and Phumi Nkuta, the real debate became whether Nkuta was unconscious before the bell sounded. Ariel Helwani and other fighters like Merab Dvalishvili initially believed and posted on X that Nkuta was not unconscious when Dean waved off the fight, but that it happened nearly two seconds later as Moraes continued holding on to the choke.
However, Herb believes there was less than a second remaining when he actually stopped the fight. In that case, there seems to be a difference between what live viewers and the officials saw.
A look at the replays will show Dean stepping in as the bell is going off. It took him another split second to get Moraes to break his grip. So, yes, he was holding on for a second or two more than necessary.
Nkuta stopped moving before the bell. He rolled over to his side, unconscious, legs stiff, when Moraes broke the grip and walked off with his hands raised. The point of contention, however, is WHEN Nkuta passed out.
With the dispute still unresolved, Phumi Nkuta’s manager, Lance Spaude of Iridium Sports Agency, knocked on the California Athletic Commission’s door to challenge Dean’s verdict.
“Iridium Sports Agency has filed a formal appeal with the California State Athletic Commission on behalf of Phumi Nkuta regarding the outcome of his bout tonight with Moraes in Inglewood, CA. Per CSAC regulation, the contest should’ve been decided by the judges’ scorecards,” Spaude wrote on X. “We contest the commission’s determination that Phumi was unconscious at the end of the bout because the choke was held for a considerable time after the conclusion of the round and after the referee, Herb Dean, attempted to stop the bout,”
Herb Dean addresses the controversial ending to Adriano Moraes x Phumi Nkuta and explains the technical submission call: “[I was] definitely sure that he went unconscious before the bell — like, a fraction of a second before the bell — and then I went and stopped the fight. He Show more
Now, with many details remaining to be unfolded, this is the second notable time when Herb Dean got into controversy for his late call.
UFC star called out Herb Dean for his late stoppage at a marquee Paramount+ event
Earlier this year, Herb Dean officiated the barnburner co-main event between Benoit Saint Denis and Dan Hooker at UFC 325 in Sydney. In a high-stakes lightweight bout, the French fighter pieced up the Kiwi star in a bloody encounter, leaving Hooker defenseless against a barrage of ground-and-pound shots.
During the finishing sequence, it was clear that ‘BSD’s strikes were landing flush on Hooker’s head, but Dean allowed the action to continue for nearly a full minute before finally stepping in. Many felt the veteran referee stopped the fight far too late, forcing Hooker to absorb unnecessary damage and prompting fighters like Jorge Masvidal to claim Dean is the worst referee of all time.
“As I’ve said my whole f—ing career, Herb Dean is the worst referee to ever exist,” Masvidal said, via Death Row MMA. “I mean, f—k, bro, does he suck? Holy smokes, is he bad? A fighter, especially like Hooker, though he’s obviously on his way out, he’s not gonna quit. He’s not gonna tap. You’ve got to take that guy out.”
Now, after that controversial sequence, Herb Dean finds himself in another disputed situation. Still, given how long he has been in the game and the number of high-pressure fights he has officiated, it would not be a stretch to say Dean will continue refereeing despite the current backlash and multiple controversies from the past.
