Dan Hardy says Herb Dean has a terrific track record but did C.B. Dollaway dirty at UFC Fight Night: Moscow.
The UFC commentator was calling the action live when Dollaway and Khalid Murtazaliev squared off. Towards the end of the second round, Dolloway shelled up on the ground and absorbed countless unanswered punches. The fans booed, people online were outraged and the commentary team were dumbstruck.
Ultimately, Dean waved off the bout between the second and third round after Dollaway was unable to get up.
“It’s difficult to criticize Herb Dean because he’s refereed me before and he’s been excellent,” the Englishman told Luke Thomas on Monday’s The MMA Hour. “He’s had an excellent career as a referee so far. I mean, I don’t know what went wrong, to be honest. I think for everyone in the arena who starts to boo, I think we all saw the fight was over.”
Should Herb Dean Be Punished?
Hardy, 36, chalks up the poor officiating to a momentary lapse. “I feel like Herb did him a disservice there,” he explained. “He could have saved him from at least 10 seconds of punches. He was curled up on his side, then he moved belly down, and for me, that’s too many, when they’re belly down, they’re done.”
The one-time welterweight title challenger agrees the blame should fall on Dean. After all, it is the referee’s job is to “save the fighters from themselves and from their ego and pride.” But he does not think the veteran referee should be too harshly punished.
“I’m sure there was a conversation with Herb Dean about it, and I’m sure he sees the error in the stoppage now,” Hardy said. “He was even confused at the end. The round ended, and with one arm he pushed Murtazaliev away and with the other arm, he waved the fight off.”
“I don’t know, there was a momentary lapse of concentration there for Herb Dean,” he concluded. “And it was very, very dangerous for Dollaway.”
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