Refereeing can get controversial in any sport. In fact, just about every sports team will have a problem with the referee and his calls at one point or another. These debates can be turned up to eleven, however, in the UFC. While a football team might just lose yards or points because of a missed call, MMA deals with fights where bad refereeing can directly result in bodily injury.
That’s the basis of former fighter and current analyst Dan Hardy’s argument against official Herb Dean, who landed himself in controversy again with a late stoppage in Francisco Trinaldo versus Jai Herbert.
The matter has split the UFC fanbase in opinion and Hardy has come out to clarify some of his positions on Instagram.
What did Hardy have to say on the issue?
“If you understand what it takes to get in there, then you understand my passion and anger when I see a fighter left unprotected. It isn’t the first time it’s happened, and twice in a night is clear negligence, in my opinion,” Hardy said in his post.
“When I make a mistake, I look stupid on live TV. When a referee makes a mistake, people are left vulnerable and can be seriously damaged. That can be life-changing, and we all have someone to go home to, that loves us and wants us back in one piece,” he continued later in the post.
As a former fighter, Hardy is all too familiar with the safety risks in the sport. He retired with a 25-10-1 record and in his biggest fight took on Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight crown. His feud with Dean had some fans telling him to stick with announcing, but in a sport like this, there’s always going to be controversy around the referees.
The dispute between Dean and his critics still remains unfinished, as Dean is under investigation but no verdict was passed down yet.