Embattled mixed martial arts referee Herb Dean is set to be the third man in the cage for the main event of the upcoming UFC 331 card.
Dean has come under fire in recent months for a series of controversial officiating moments in several high-profile bouts, including the UFC Freedom 250 fight between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira, where he did not take a point from Gane despite landing several illegal shots to the back of Pereira’s head before the finish.
Several other fighters, such as Andre Fili and Michel Pereira, have also felt slighted by Dean during their recent bouts, as they felt like the referee did not have their back despite their opponents committing infractions under the Unified Rules of MMA.
Despite his recent mistakes, Dean is still getting the chance to officiate big fights, and that includes the main event of the upcoming UFC 331 event.
Herb Dean Will Officiate UFC 331 Headliner
UFC 331 takes place on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings.
According to California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster, despite Dean’s issues as of late, he has full confidence in his ability to officiate bouts at the highest level, and he confirmed that Dean will be the third man in the Octagon for the UFC 331 main event.
“I think Herb Dean’s a good referee and you’ll see Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFC’s because Herb Dean is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full confidence,” Foster told MMAFighting.com’s Damon Martin.
At this time, the UFC 331 main event has yet to be confirmed, though it will almost assuredly be a title fight given this is a numbered card.
Andy Foster Defends Herb Dean
Foster was one of the head regulators at UFC Freedom 250, and he was in attendance for the Gane vs. Pereira bout.
In Foster’s opinion, although he admits a few of Gane’s shots hit Pereira in the back of the head, Dean did not do anything terribly egregious during that bout by not calling a timeout during the bout and potentially taking a point away.
“The thing with Gane and Pereira, I was there. I was watching that in real time. That didn’t look anything different … that looked like a normal fight to me. That looked like a normal fight. I think what started that series was the punch that put (Pereira) on the ground. I know that’s what started that series. He’s obviously trying to finish him. (Pereira) is trying to get back in the fight. There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit (the back of the head). The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you stop the action? Because I don’t think many referees would have, if any, certainly at the high level. What do you do with that situation? Tell me that’s not something that you’ve seen before. I think what started that series was the knockdown. That was the case,” Foster said.
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