For a few moments inside T-Mobile Arena, everything came to a halt. Jack Hermansson was not moving. His body went limp the instant Gregory Rodrigues hit that left hook, and the sound of his head bouncing off the canvas stunned everyone. The energy switched from enthusiasm to fear in a moment. No reassurance. Only silence and a motionless fighter. If you, too, were one of those worried, we finally have a positive update.

Jack Hermansson has received medical clearance. Megan Olivi announced the news during the UFC 317 broadcast, easing the fears of fans who had witnessed the middleweight veteran be viciously knocked out. At the time, no one in the building knew what would happen next.

Rodrigues had delivered a hammerfist before Herb Dean could intervene, and ‘The Joker’ lay there motionless. For those watching live or from home, the wait seemed long. What made matters worse was how amazing Hermansson looked only minutes before.

After more than a year away from the cage, ‘The Joker’ was fighting methodically and rediscovering his groove. He had a plan. But Rodrigues’ superbly executed shot changed the script in an instant. It was clean. It was violent. And that was difficult to watch.

Even when Jack Hermansson eventually sat up, the scene remained unsettling. He was visibly confused, his knees shaky, and his expression blank. The cage was filled with medics and officials, but all anyone could do was wait and pray.

He was out stiff, senseless, and defenseless, leaving little opportunity for comfort in the moment. It wasn’t about fighting anymore. It was about Jack Hermansson’s health. However, another topic of discussion arose, and it was about the poor officiating by UFC’s veteran referee, Herb Dean.

Daniel Cormier and others call out Herb Dean’s failure to protect Jack Hermansson

For all the acclaim Gregory Rodrigues received for his knockout, there was a general consensus that it should not have finished the way it did. Herb Dean’s delay in coming in gave Rodrigues just enough time to fire one more shot. And that’s exactly what many—especially those on commentary—couldn’t overlook.

Daniel Cormier was one of the first to react live on TV, visibly horrified by what he had seen. “He’s laying there out,” he exclaimed, startled. “Why didn’t the ref jump in there and stop that?” Cormier pointed out that Rodrigues had hesitated, as if expecting the fight to end.

“He literally walked up to him and throws,” DC said, highlighting how easily the extra shot might have been avoided. Joe Rogan agreed, describing the hammerfist as “certainly unnecessary.” Other entities chimed in, but not on commentary, but through social media.

Chris Weidman voiced dismay as he watched Hermansson’s sharp early performance devolve into a fiasco. “Wish Herb got in the way of that hammer fist at the end,” he posted on X. However, not everyone was as diplomatic. Eryk Anders summed up what many were thinking, writing, “Herb Dean has lost a step.”

The criticism was not personal; it was protective. Because no matter how exciting a knockout appears, there is a delicate line between drama and danger.