This past weekend at UFC Fight Island 3, there was a moment of controversy involving veteran official Herb Dean. Dean was referring a fight between Francisco Trinaldo and Jai Herbert when the following happened.
OUT OF NOWHERE ?@Massarandubamma dropped the hammer at #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/ZO9lfuarOf
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 25, 2020
What does the UFC do?
As you can see, Trinaldo completely floored Herbert for the KO. However, Dean didn’t stop the fight. Trinaldo hesitated before throwing a couple of shots that forced Dean to step in.
Former UFC fighter and commentator Dan Hardy can be heard screaming, “Stop the fight! That’s two times now!”
Let’s be clear, Herb Dean is one of if not the best official in MMA, but the stoppage was bad. Herbert was clearly out and the fight wasn’t stopped. Everyone knew he was out, but Dean saw him somewhat defending so he let it go a little. Dean offered his explanation via Instagram.
There has been a ton of back and forth following this officiating call. It’s one thing when a fight gets stopped too early, but it’s another to have it stopped too late.
Dean is a human just like the rest of us so he’s bound to make a mistake. The explanation to me was a little far fetched. It would have been better if he just admitted the mistake from UFC Fight Island 3.
Hardy confronted Dean following fight. You can hear Hardy yell out to Dean, “I’ll do my job, now you do yours.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je2GbnZ9FU4
Bottom line, it was a bad mistake. The fight was stopped late and Herbert took a couple of shots he didn’t need to. The UFC is said to be investigating the situation.