Herb Dean (photo) will be the referee for Jones x Cormier. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
The rematch between Daniel Cormier e Jon Jones is so surrounded by tension that even the choice of referee for the fight was the subject of controversy. The light heavyweight champion was not pleased to learn that the mediator of the UFC 197 main fight will be Herb Dean, the same man who acted in the first duel between the two, in January of last year.
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During a Nevada Athletic Commission hearing this Wednesday (23), Dean, one of the most experienced referees in the entire UFC, was appointed to perform the role during the fight that will win the title in the 93 kg category. Cormier, who was present at the meeting to obtain a license to fight, questioned the decision due to the referee's recent history.
According to the champion, Dean made important mistakes in the January 2015 duel, especially when he allowed the fight to go on for a long time in the clinch, with little action. Despite Cormier's complaint, the Nevada Commission upheld the decision and confirmed the arbitrator's choice.
Cormier and Jones will face each other again on April 23, in Las Vegas (USA), in the main fight of UFC 197. In the first confrontation between the two, Jones won the judges' unanimous decision after five rounds of fighting.
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