For everyone who supported Sean O’Malley, UFC 306 was nothing but a massive disappointment. Merab Dvalishvili won the bout and claimed the UFC bantamweight championship title via unanimous decision. However, the fight fans were pretty upset with how the referee in charge of the bout kept interfering.

The UFC commentators, Joe Rogan and Jon Anik were of similar opinions. As soon as the bout began, Herb Dean intervened and asked the fighters to stop. He was heard saying, “Do not talk to him. That’s my job. You do this again, it will be me.” Well, this part was well understood, as ‘The Machine’ was apparently yelling back at Tim Welch. However, when Dean kept saying “work” in the final round, all the attention was on him. 

Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik join Joe Rogan in a stand against Herb Dean

Rogan claimed that he did not understand that and why he asked the fighters to work. This was further solidified by the UFC play-by-play commentator as he said, “It was offputting to me and Joe Rogan. Merab wasn’t timid. He had the fight in the bag. To me, Herb Dean was injecting himself in the fight when he didn’t need to.”

The entire world was upset with the upset about Dean’s frequent intervention. Even Daniel Cormier expressed his disappointment during a conversation with the bantamweight champion and Aljamain Sterling on his YouTube talk show. 

DC said, “But Herb Dean on Saturday, kept saying ‘work’. I mean, that was very surprising. What was going on there? I don’t understand why he was saying ‘work’. Like, I really don’t understand what happened. That Saturday night was not as good as it should have been. That’s being honest, man. I was very shocked!”

The commentators were not the only ones dissatisfied with the veteran referee. Ex-UFC star Jorge Masvidal also fired off on Dean with a sharp jibe on X. “Worst referee in the game #herb dean,” wrote ‘Gamebred.’

Nevertheless, ‘The Machine’ didn’t back away from clinching a phenomenal victory. But did you know that Dean’s intervention caused Dvalishvili to loosen his grip before the bell rang?

Merab Dvalishvili recounts how the referee made him loosen his grip on Sean O’Malley early

As the second round of the fight was coming to an end, Dvalishvili had the former bantamweight champion in his clutches. However, with only 10 seconds remaining for the conclusion of the bout, the Georgian fighter didn’t see a point in trying to submit his opponent. Instead, he decided to have some fun and kissed O’Malley a few times. However, the referee didn’t like it.

During the post-fight press conference, Dvalishvili said, “When the ref touched me, I thought it was break time, so I started walking to my corner, but there were still 3 seconds left — he was just telling me to stop kissing him, LOL!” It was this intervention that invoked O’Malley to strike back at Dvalishvili while he was casually walking away. After all, the bell hadn’t rung yet, and it was all within the permitted boundaries. 

What are your thoughts on Dean’s frequent interventions in the fight? Do you think the outcome would have been any different had the referee restrained himself? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.