Herb Dean might want to stay off social media for a while.
Herb Dean had a shocker at UFC Moscow. The famed MMA referee is being heavily criticised for his officiating of the featured preliminary bout between CB Dollaway and Khalid Murtazaliev.
The middleweight bout was competitive until it wasn't. Dollaway scored takedowns, he got his licks in, but once the promotional newcomer started getting on top, things turned ugly.
Dollaway got to full mount before taking his adversary's back in the second round. He nearly locked in a Peruvian necktie, but Murtazaliev escaped before taking full mount. He grabbed the fence to get a better position, which saw Dean issue him with a warning.
Murtazaliev punished Dollaway with huge knees. At this stage, Dollaway looked spent. He covered up but ate a knee to the head after getting back to his feet. As Dollaway turtled up on the canvas, Murtazaliev rained down with ferocious punches. Dollaway had no answer for any of them. Eventually, he moved onto his belly. Dean warned him to fight back and even though he showed no signs of doing that, the fight continued until the buzzer sounded.
Dollaway was so beaten up, he couldn’t make it to the stool. Dean asked him twice if he could fight. Dollaway couldn't and the fight was called off.
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Horrible stoppage
Dan Hardy's commentary told the story of the stoppage.
"Dollaway's had enough. Dollaway's curled up in a ball. He's had enough. He's trying to fight back, but there's just no energy left in his body... Surely this fight needs stopping. Surely this fight needs stopping.
Paul Felder, who was also in the commentary booth, couldn't believe his eyes either.
"He's just got to stop punching here. It's over. What is he doing?"
Once the round ended, John Gooden seemed astounded that Dean hadn't intervened.
"Well, he's made it out of the round. He's made it out of the round. I think the fight is still going on. I think the fight is still going on. Herb Dean, I think, waved off the round, but not the fight."
Once it was finally over, Felder said the following:
"I normally like Herb Dean, but that was a big mistake on his part right there."
Hardy agreed.
"He's refereed me many times and has always been excellent with his judgment call, but for me, that should have been stopped probably 10 strikes earlier."
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