Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall, two of the best MMA fighters in the world, took to social media to trash embattled official Herb Dean.
The longtime MMA official has come under fire in recent weeks for poor decision-making during his fights, as he simply refuses to take points from fighters who commit fouls in fights that he oversees.
At UFC Freedom 250, Ciryl Gane hit Pereira in the back of the head with several illegal strikes, but Dean did not take any points from Gane, and he won that fight by TKO.
A week later at UFC Vegas 119, Vinicius Oliveira hit Andre Fili in the back of the head before winning by TKO. Again, Dean did not take any points from Oliveira for the fouls.
Then, at UFC Baku, Shara Magomedov pulled Michel Pereira’s hair and poked him in the eye. Despite several “strong warnings” from Dean, he refused to take a point from Magomedov for the multiple infractions he committed, which led to Pereira going after him on social media.
Now, Pereira and Aspinall have continued the criticism of Dean after what happened at UFC Baku.
Alex Pereira & Tom Aspinall Rip Herb Dean
Following UFC Baku, Alex Pereira took to social media and posted a video of Michel Pereira getting his hair pulled by Magomedov, along with the caption, “Herb Dean coward.”
Later on, Aspinall joined in, posting a video of his own on social media and writing, “MMA doesnât have ârulesâ anymore. Itâs just âsuggestions.â”
When you have two of the biggest names in MMA going after you on social media for your inability to enforce the rules and take points away from fighters who commit blatant fouls in their fights, perhaps it’s time that Dean realizes that he’s not doing an adequate job right now and that something has to change, or else someone might get seriously hurt with him in the cage.
Will Anything Change With Herb Dean?
Dean has been officiating UFC fights at the highest level of the sport since 2003. Due to his longevity in the game, he is a highly respected referee in MMA, and that’s why he gets so many opportunities to officiate big fights, including many UFC title fights.
But right now, he is really struggling as a referee, because he is not doing his job to enforce the rules.
Fighters know they can get away with breaking the rules when Dean is officiating their fights. Until he starts taking points, nothing is going to change when Dean is reffing UFC fights, and fighters are going to continue to try to cheat, as they more often than not are not punished for their actions.
Dean is not going to be removed from his job as a ref or anything extreme like that. But he truly needs to do a better job, because the fighters’ health and safety are on the line every time they step into the cage, and the referee’s job is to protect. And right now, Dean isn’t doing that.
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