The incident at Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Center, where the UFC Fight Night headlined by Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong is taking place, has now sparked major outrage on social media. Herb Dean once again finds himself in the spotlight, this time over a delay in stopping a fight that put a fighter’s life at risk, just two weeks after he received accolades for a timely intervention.
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“Herb Dean casually sat there and waited for the sacrifice to the Blood Gods, and boy, they sure got it,” wrote veteran MMA writer Jed Meshew II.
Those comments center around the final moments of the main card bout between Ce Liu and Levi Rodrigues Jr. With half a minute left in the opening round, the Chinese fighter, making his promotional debut tonight, stopped the Brazilian fighter with a right hook.
Most fans and observers had Liu as the odds-on favorite to win the bout. But no one expected it would end so soon. What seems to have bothered many is that Rodrigues, who fell face-first on the mat, could have been saved from that misery much earlier.
While Rodrigues had his moments, they were brief, eventually leading to Lieu getting the upper hand and dropping the Brazilian. Though Rodrigues got up, it became clear which way the fight was headed. He appeared shaky and confused, seemingly fighting on instinct.
Given the way Rodrigues fell, concerns about his safety emerged. On social media, many felt Dean could have intervened much earlier when it became clear that Rodrigues was in a vulnerable position.
The latest incident comes two weeks after Dean received praise for stopping the fight between Esteban Ribovics and Edson Barboza. Getting the better of the Brazilian veteran, Ribovics had taken control. Following a heated exchange in the opening round that left Barboza suffering from a shin injury, the Argentine continued his attack well into the second round.
Herb Dean casually sat there and waited for the sacrifice to the Blood Gods, and boy they sure got it.
One and a half minutes into the round, Dean noticed that Barboza was offering no resistance. As a result, he decided to stop the fight.
But fans watching UFC Shanghai seemingly forgot about Dean’s recent intervention as they turned their criticism toward him.
“Herb Dean out here rooting for brain damage,” one user wrote.
“So I hear Herb Dean nearly let another man die again 😭,” another fan lamented.
Offering a blunt take, one said, “Herb Dean (is) just a spectator in there—he has no clue what to do anymore. Luckily, Rodriguez and Liu didn’t need an official. Swang and bang.”
Another user added, “Herb Dean is getting worse than Mario, bro. Wtf was that? Levi was out for 2 mins on the feet; why’d he want to see a dead body?”