Opinion: The UFC has a refereeing problem, and Herb Dean is at the center of it

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Referee Herb Dean is once again at the center of a controversy. | : Jeff Bottari/Zuffa/Getty


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To say there’s a controversy with referees in any sport is like saying there’s corruption in politics.

Duh! Mixed martial arts is obviously no stranger. We’ve had referees jump in too soon when a fight should be allowed to continue, taking away the opportunity for an athlete to continue fighting when they have their wits about them. We’ve had things go to the opposite end of the spectrum where the bout goes too long and a competitor is taking unnecessary punishment when the action should have already been stopped. The latter is usually more common, not to mention more egregious. However, while it certainly remains an issue, it’s been a lesser topic in terms of referereeing incompetence.

The enforcement of the rules has been the problem as of late. It isn’t enough for a ref to let a fighter know they’re breaking the rules; they need to offer some sort of dissuasion to keep them from continuing to do so. Maybe something like, oh, I don’t know... taking a point?

At this point, a fighter would be stupid not to attempt to break the rules with regularity. They seem to have about three good shots to the groin, about the same number of eye pokes, countless fence grabs, not to mention grabbing their opponents shorts and/or gloves while grappling. Oh yes... last weekend we blatantly saw another one that can be added to the list: hair pulling.

Why Herb Dean's handling of fouls has become the real controversy​

Last weekend, Michel Pereira managed to rock the heavily favored Sharaputdin Magomedov in the opening round. As Magomedov was on his back with Pereira in his guard looking to rain down some power punches, Magomedov grabbed the hair of Pereira. In the process, he prevented Pereira from posturing up to land with authority, not to mention taking Pereira out of his flow. The resulting pause in the action also allowed Magomedov to further clear the cobwebs. So naturally, given the natural advantage Pereira had managed to create for himself, Magomedov should have been deducted a point, right? Nope.

Referee Herb Dean took the egregious foul as a time to give a “stern warning” prior to the opening of the second round, telling Magomedov “no more fouls.” If I heard that, I would assume that means the next time Magomedov breaks the rules, a point would have to be taken. Maybe Dean forgot. Come the third round, Magomedov poked Pereira in the eye and faced no repercussions from the foul.

The typical argument for why refs don’t take more points is they don’t want to insert themselves into the fight. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say insert themselves into the action any more than they have to. While I understand the sentiment, it’s a bunch of hooey. The referee is an element of the fight. They are one of three individuals inside the cage or ring while the action is happening. Their job is to ensure the rules are being followed and penalize those who insist on breaking them, intentional or not. That appears to be the biggest problem with refs, choosing to penalize based on how intentional the foul. That’s not how it’s supposed to work; a foul is a foul.

Why MMA fighters keep getting away with repeated fouls​

Think about how things work in basketball. If you attempt to block the shot of a shooter and smack their arm, that’s a foul. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t trying to hit their arm, it is still a foul. As a result, the shooter gets to go to the foul line. Perhaps the ref fears penalizing the fighter will put it in their head they have to fight cautiously. While that would likely be the case, it is incumbent upon fighters to learn how to fight without committing fouls. I get that accidents happen and if the ref wants one hard warning a fight, fine. But there needs to be a much harder line set than what currently exists.

At this point, it has emerged as a full-blown controversy. A large number of fighters are saying they don’t want him to referee their fights. If fighters are worried for their safety, they aren’t going to perform at their optimal level. They will also be less likely to fight fairly if they don’t feel fighters will be punished for fouls. I can’t blame them for preferring to be the fighter doing the fouling as opposed to the fighter being fouled.

This isn’t that easy to fix. The UFC is the one who assigns refs for events that aren’t overseen by an athletic commission, so they appear to be a glutton for punishment. Athletic commissions don’t seem too concerned either as they continue to employ refs like Dean without hesitation. Beyond that, it would be inaccurate to say the UFC doesn’t have any influence on who commissions assign to their events. Several refs over the years whom Dana White took issue with just stopped getting UFC assignments. Steve Mazzagatti, Kim Winslow and Mario Yamasaki are former mainstays that went by the wayside after enough gaffes. For whatever reason though, there haven’t been any referees who’ve rotated out due to incompetence as of late.

I would propose a grading system of sorts given commissions don’t seem to care. Less emphasis on referee’s discretion and more on what neds to be done so there isn’t variance and easier to grade. So the referees aren’t living off a reputation they developed 20 years ago – as Dean has since seeing Frank Mir break the arm of Tim Sylvia when noone else did – the time frame only goes so far back for the cumulative score. If they fall below a certain level, they’re suspended for a time as kicking them down to the regional scene would be cruel to those fighters. While suspended, perhaps they retake the course to be a certified referee. Have a respectable name like John McCarthy or Andy Foster head up the program and choose the committee members and/or criteria. Given the billions they rake in, the UFC could spare some cash towards this endeavor.

I don’t want to make it sound as though being a referee is easy. It’s difficult in any sport and the stakes are high in MMA. The health of the participants is literally in the hands of the ref. However, just because it is difficult, that doesn’t mean the sport and those who present it shouldn’t strive for the optimum in all facets. Bad nights will happen and shouldn’t define an official. But this has become a trend for Dean. Dean has lost the confidence of those who should have supreme confidence in him. It’s time something changed.

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