Video: Commentator clashes with referee after delay in stopping Massaranduba fight

D. Hardy (left) and H. Dean (right) clash after fight massaranduba. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @themmapursuit

A great victory for Francisco Massaranduba against Jai Herbert at UFC Ilha da Luta 3, held last Saturday (25), in Abu Dhabi, ended up being the pivot of discomfort behind the scenes of the event. After a brutal knockout, the organization's commentator and former fighter, Dan Hardy, clashed with the central referee of the fight, Herb Dean, claiming that the conductor should have stopped the fight before it happened.

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the duel between massaranduba and Herbert was responsible for closing the preliminary card of the event. The combatants fought a tough and balanced fight until, in the third round, the Brazilian landed a direct hit on his rival's forehead, who fell in slow motion, visibly unable to react. Francisco hesitated to attack his opponent on the ground, but Dean preferred to wait a little longer to make the decision to stop the confrontation, leading Jai to receive a few more punches while half unconscious.

In the images after the fight, it is possible to see Hardy visibly irritated with Dean, who did not remain silent and responded to the commentator, before leaving the space.

On his social networks, Dan published a clarification note without mentioning the name of the Ultimate referee.

“I love MMA. Sometimes he doesn't love me back and that's okay. No regrets, I will always do everything to protect him and those who dedicate themselves to him. Sometimes you may disagree with me and that's okay too. I will always say what is in my heart.

(…) The referee’s job is more important than anyone else’s in that building. It is their responsibility to prevent fighters from seriously injuring themselves when they are unable to defend themselves.

You may only see fighters there, but I see friends, teammates, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers competing in the sport they love.

When I make a mistake, I look like an idiot on television. When a referee makes a mistake, people become vulnerable and can be seriously injured. It could change someone's life and we all have someone who loves us and wants us to get home in one piece,” Hardy wrote.

Herb also used his official Instagram account to speak out about what happened. The referee explained that he acted correctly, following instructions from assistants outside the octagon.

“(…) Everyone has a job there, everyone knows what their job is, and they have specific tasks. I have the job of refereeing the fight, and one of my duties is to stop the fight when the fighter is taking too much damage. There are two people who are authorized to advise me through this, to perhaps shout these words: “Stop the fight.”

“The first is the doctor. We have a local doctor who knows more about the human body than I do. He's there to give me advice. If he can't get my attention, maybe he can shout, 'Stop the fight.' Then there is the fighter's corner. They train with him, they know him and they know more things about him than I do. They might know something that I don't, and that's why they would give me some advice to stop the fight. Ultimately, stopping the fight is my decision.

The truth is, I'm not going to look at that fight to know if I should have stopped it sooner, because it's easy. Anyone who believes I should is just following the opinion of someone with a microphone who says she should have been stopped. But if you know anything about fighting, you know that fighters get hurt, they get ripped apart all the time, but we're looking at his actions. He is looking for his opponent, he knows where he is, he puts both arms between himself and the opponent, he lifts his legs and head off the mat. He's doing everything I could ask to stay in the fight. So it wasn’t a wrong stoppage,” he concluded.

See the moment of disagreement

 

View this photo on Instagram

 

Here's the clip of Dan Hardy and Herb Dean sharing some words. 😳 I think Hardy went a little too far. Herb is an OG and just made a really bad mistake. No need for Hardy to get involved though. What do you guys think?

A publication shared by The MMA Pursuit (@themmapursuit) on Jul 26, 2020 at 10:08 pm PDT