Dana White defends referee Herb Dean after controversies with Poatan and Michel Pereira in the UFC: 'A nice guy'

Dana White at a UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC

PUBLICITY:

Herb Dean has gained an important ally in combat sports: Dana White. In June, the experienced referee was harshly criticized by Alex Poatan and Michel Pereira for his performances in their losses to Ciryl Gane and Shara Magomedov , respectively, in Washington (USA) and Baku (AZE). But, unlike what has been happening with part of the MMA community, the executive is not turning his back on the professional.

On the contrary, the UFC president not only defended Herb, but also made a point of praising him. In fact, this wasn't the first time Dana had tried to downplay the controversy surrounding the referee. For many fans, the veteran had a direct influence on the Brazilians' defeats in their recent fights, and from then on, they began to criticize him.

Michel and Poatan also, whenever they can, criticize the professional. Since he's known Herb for years, Dana, who had previously ruled out punishing him, emphasizes that Herb is prone to mistakes, just like anyone else, and is fully capable of turning his career around.

See too

UFC Ranking: Paddy Pimblett enters the top 5 of the lightweight division after shining at UFC 329; Brazilian becomes a standout.

MMA World Cup: Which country is the best in the sport and wins the trophy?

What will the future hold for Conor McGregor? 5 possible opponents for the Irishman in his last UFC fight.

“That’s a problem for the Commission. It’s not my problem. We have nothing to do with it. Herb is a nice guy and I think that, in any sport, as I always say, many mistakes are made. I don’t know anything about soccer, but I heard there were about 30 mistakes that helped the team win,” said the executive at the post- UFC 329 press conference.

“This kind of thing always happens in every sport. So, I don’t know. Yeah, Herb needs to get his act together . I’m sure people will turn around and applaud him again ,” he concluded.

Poatan and Michel against Herb Dean

Reviewing his fight against Gane at UFC Casa Branca , Poatan asserted that he was fine and explained that he was only knocked out in the second round because he received a 'lucky punch' and a series of illegal strikes to the back of the head. Feeling wronged, the Brazilian disapproved of 'Bon Gamin's' conduct, harshly criticized Herb, and called for him to be fired.

Michel also blamed the referee for the defeat and criticized him for not punishing Shara for the repeated infractions. In the first round, the Russian was warned more than once by Herb for grabbing the Flying Paraense's hair. During the break, the referee spoke with the athlete and explained the rules. After the warnings, the bad boy unintentionally poked his opponent in the eye in the third round and only received another warning.

Herb lost the prize.

Despite having Dana White's support, Herb's form is so bad that he lost the 'Best Referee' award at the 'MMA Oscars' ceremony held in Las Vegas in July to Marc Goddard. Since the voting was done online, fans showed that the professional no longer enjoys the prestige he once did. The veteran had won the last two awards.

Exclusive: Michael PQD talks about his brutal UFC debut victory.